Emergency Management
Evacuate, Hide-out, Take-action.
Responding to an Active Assailant
How one responds to an active assailant situation will be determined by the specific circumstances of the encounter. If you find yourself involved in an active assailant situation, try to remain calm and use the following guidelines as a strategy for survival.
If you ever find yourself in an active assailant situation, the simplest thing to remember is Evacuate, Hide-out, Take-action!
- If there is an accessible escape path, attempt to evacuate the premises. Be sure to:
- If there is an escape path, attempt to evacuate.
- Evacuate whether others agree to or not.
- Leave your belongings behind.
- Help others escape if possible.
- Prevent others from entering the area.
- Call 9-1-1 when you are safe.
- If evacuation is not possible, find a place to hide where the active assailant is less likely to find you.
- Lock and/or blockade the door.
- Hide behind large objects.
- Silence your cell phone.
- Turn off any source of noise (i.e., radios, televisions)
- Remain very quiet.
- Your hiding place should:
- Be out of the shooter’s view.
- Provide protection if shots are fired in your direction.
- Not trap or restrict your options for movement.
- Remain calm:
- Dial 911, if possible, to alert police to the active assailant’s location.
- If you cannot speak, leave the line open and allow the dispatcher to listen.
- As a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger, attempt to
- disrupt and/or incapacitate the active assailant by:
- Acting as aggressively as possible against the assailant.
- Attempt to incapacitate the assailant.
- Improvise weapons.
- Committing to your actions.
Information Regarding Law Enforcement
Information to provide to law enforcement or 911 operator:
- Location of the active assailant.
- Number of assailants, if more than one.
- Physical description of assailant/s.
- Number and type of weapons held by the assailant/s.
- Number of potential victims at the location.
How to react when law enforcement arrives:
- Remain calm and follow officers’ instructions.
- Put down any items in your hands (i.e., bags, jackets).
- Always keep your hands visible.
- Avoid pointing, screaming and/or yelling.
- Know that help for the injured is on its way.
What you should expect from law enforcement responding to an active assailant:
- If possible, tell the officers where the assailant(s) was last seen and a description of the assailant(s).
- Do as the officers direct you and always keep your hands visible.
- Police are trained to proceed as quickly as possible to the sound of the gunfire; their purpose is to stop the assailant(s).
- Officers may be in plainclothes, patrol uniforms or SWAT Uniforms armed with long rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
- Also be aware that the first responding police officers will not stop to assist injured people. Others will follow to treat the injured. First responding officers are trained to proceed as quickly as possible to the threat and to stop the assailant(s).
- Keep in mind that once you are in a safe location, the entire scene is a crime scene. The police usually will not let anyone leave until the situation is completely under control. Police may ask for your statement of what you heard and observed. Please cooperate with the police.