In today’s world, the unfortunate reality is that active shooter incidents have become a pressing concern. Law enforcement agencies are training extensively to handle these situations, and as a civilian, understanding how to respond can be the difference between life and death.
Mass Shootings in Public Spaces
Essentially all mass shootings happen in so-called gun-free zones. Whether it’s schools, workplaces, shopping malls, or entertainment venues, these are areas where shooters believe they can inflict the most harm. The sad reality is that many of these places which consider your carrying of your defensive handgun to be illegal which leaves you and the public vulnerable.
Trust Your Instincts When Gunfire Erupts
When an active shooter event occurs, it’s natural to be shocked, but don’t let disbelief cost you precious time. Many people hesitate, thinking the sounds are fireworks or a prank. The truth is, when your senses are telling you something’s wrong—believe them!
Heed the Warning Signs of an Active Shooter
Whether you’re hearing gunshots, seeing glass shatter, or feeling the panic around you, it’s crucial to act quickly. If you are familiar with firearms, recognizing gunfire might come easier, but regardless of your experience, trusting your instincts can save your life.
Immediate Response: Move and Find Cover from Gunfire
Once you recognize the danger, your first priority is to get out of the line of fire. Drop to the ground immediately and move toward cover. Remember, not everything that conceals you will stop a bullet. Items like brick walls and concrete planters can stop many different caliber bullets. If pressed use items that offer more concealment than cover, but might be the only options you have right now like taking up a position behind a door or desk.
Try to put as much distance between yourself and the shooter as possible. Crawl to a more secure location or an exit if you can. Distance favors the trained—the further you are from the gunman, the better your odds of survival.
Escape or Engage: Listen for When the Active Shooter Does This
In many shootings, there’s a brief pause when the gunman is reloading or switching weapons. This moment of silence is your chance to escape or to mount and attack. Be prepared to act swiftly—moving toward an exit can make all the difference.
In some situations, fighting back might be your only option. There are cases where armed citizens stopped shooters, saving countless lives. If you’re carrying a firearm and are trained to use it, this could be your moment to intervene. Despite the recent narrative on media that good guys with guns "rarely" stop bad guys, there are many civilians who took action to save many, many lives.
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Whether to engage the shooter is a personal, tactical decision. It depends on the situation and your assessment of the risks involved. My goal should be to gain and maintain a tactical advantage during this lethal force incident. Anything that contributes to this objective is positive for me.
Law Enforcement’s Approach to Active Shooters
Law enforcement officers are trained to respond quickly to neutralize the threat. Programs like the FBI’s ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) emphasize moving toward the gunfire, with officers being trained to take immediate action, even without backup. They prioritize stopping the shooter before more lives are lost.
We say run to the sound of gunfire, but make sure you don't run to your death. Stay aware of the tactical use of cover, concealment and movement. Judicious advancement and engagement is the key to saving lives.
Active Shooter Scenario-Based Drills
Realistic scenario training helps officers practice how they would handle chaotic environments filled with stress and confusion. This type of training sharpens their ability to make decisions under pressure, similar to the real-life situations civilians may face. Students often want to have the exact answers to how they should have handled a scenario. As humans we love to have certainty, especially in these types of chaotic and deadly situations however prescribing a rules sheet for how to respond to the scenarios is a fools errand. Each of the situations is different, each of these situations require different responses so we can follow principles, so we can't necessarily follow a prescribed solution.
But regular training in realistic scenarios is a huge advantage for first responders. This rehearsal time gives us the opportunity to practice tactics under simulated game conditions.
What We Can Do to Prepare for an Active Shooter
The answer for us as individuals, whether we are citizens or law enforcement officers, is to become a virtuoso with our defensive firearm.
The active shooter scenario is rarely solved with de-escalation.
The active shooter scenario is rarely solved with simple containment (as we saw with the school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and the Parkland School shooting in Florida).
The active shooter scenario is most likely solved with the expert and decisive engagement, using lethal force to stop lethal force.
Your expert use of your defensive firearm is what will make the difference. Think of the master violin player. Each piece of music is distinctly different, but the violin is the instrument which is used to play each and every piece. The master violin player can play any piece of music in any orchestra around the world.
Train like your life depends on it.
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