ABUSE MAGAZINE
How to Survive a School or Workplace Shooting
701-662-4976 Kids, COLOR your future with Good Choices. Stay ABUSE FREE!
301 4th Street NE • Devils Lake, ND
David Lee TRUCK & TRAILER SALES
701-662-5501
“ Kids, Peer Pressures are always there. Go for the good ones and keep on TRUCK’ N’ to an ABUSE FREE future!”
8341 Hwy 2 • Devils Lake, ND
The Master’ s Tools
322 4th Street NE Devils Lake, ND
701-662-2729
Helping give our youth the TOOLS they need to remain ABUSE Free!
434 Hwy 2 W • Devils Lake, ND
701-662-6655
Kids, Don’ t let Drugs or Alcohol Drown you! Stay a FLOAT & Ride the wake to a great future!
What would you do if a shooting happened in your own school or workplace? It is a scary thought, but it is something that could happen to anybody. Having some ideas about how to respond beforehand could save your life.
Steps alert and always report suspicious incidents to the authorities. If a student or co-worker threatens to bring a knife or a gun, for example, report this to a teacher or supervisor. You might prevent a disaster by doing so. If there are students or coworkers who lawfully carry weapons or tools, they will be able to explain this to your supervisor.
Know what the procedure is that is already in place. Many schools and workplaces have“ lock down” procedures. An example of this could be that the students hide in the corner of their classroom, out of sight of doors and windows, while the teacher locks the door and turns off the lights. If you are in the halls, you might be expected to run inside the nearest classroom. Whatever it is, know what it is, and if there is no procedure in place, talk to a teacher or boss about creating one right away.
Respond to the sound of gunshots according to your situation: If you see the shooter at distance, running away should be your first plan, when possible. At 20 feet from the gunman, you’ re still within a deadly range, but at 40 feet, you’ re a difficult shot. If he starts to shoot as you’ re making your escape, run in a zigzag or another unpredictable pattern. This will decrease your chances of being hit. Seek an exit, or if you have to, hide in a room, preferably with windows, so you have a way of escaping the room if you have to. Lock or barricade the door and turn off the lights. If a door will not lock, barricade it with tables and chairs. You might want to do this anyway just in case. If there is a phone in the room, Call the emergency services( 911 / 999 / 112) as soon as the door is locked and blocked. If you don’ t have time, call and leave the phone off the hook. The police will automatically come to see if there is a problem. If you are in the same area as the shooter, find cover, fast. If the shooter opens fire, attempt to take cover behind heavy furniture or any other heavy obstacle. If there is nothing close, simply drop to the floor and lie flat. This will protect your vital organs and make you a smaller target to the shooter. Lying flat could also make the shooter mistake you for dead. Remain quiet and still. If the shooter is about to shoot you, do anything you can to stop them. Try talking to the shooter if you know them, but use caution. You could possibly change their mind, but remember, if they have a gun in their hand, they may not be convinced by anything. Attacking an armed assailant is unwise unless you have absolutely no other option. They have likely already decided to shoot people, and threatening them may result in the deaths of you and even more around you. To take his focus off his or her weapon and plan of attack, you might throw chairs, laptops, or fire extinguishers, or set off the sprinkler system or fire alarm.
Then, pick up a desk or some other shield and charge right at the shooter. There’ s a risk you’ ll be killed in the process, but if two or three people rush at once, there’ s also a chance that somebody will take the shooter down. Unarmed civilians who band together have a much better chance of surviving an attack. If you’ re already within a step or two of the shooter, you might be able to grab his or her weapon. If the shooter is facing you, quickly reach up and take hold of the barrel, and then aim it away from your body. The move should be as clean and economical as possible.
The gunman will reflexively pull the gun back away from you. Follow the movement, gripping the gun and push your weight forward. Then, punch him in the face or the throat as hard as you can. Hit him on the nose, jab your fingers into his eyes, or strike him with the heel of your open palm. Then use your free hand to grab the non business end of the gun. With two hands on the gun, you can knee the attacker in the groin. If you are barricaded in a room with other people, firmly order everyone to spread out as widely as possible, and get down on the floor behind furniture or any other cover. People have a natural tendency to huddle together in a crisis, but in a shooting situation, this just makes all of you one big, stationary target. Spreading out and getting down low makes everyone a more difficult target.
46 | North Dakota Spring / Summer 2014 | abusemagazine. org Source: wiki