What if Fort Hood happened here?

Commentary by Jim Hart
JBER Public Affairs

4/25/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- "He's got a gun!" comes a shout from down the hall. The sound of gunfire erupts. In the chaos, some people flee the building, others hide under their desks, still others go to "shelter in place."

Who made the right decision?

As the gunman walks down the hallway, he notices a "shelter in place" sign. "Bet some are in there," he thinks. Sadly, he's right. A locked door and some drywall are no match for a determined killer. It's a target-rich environment.

He proceeds further down the hall, to an open office where people are hiding. By now he hears sirens outside; agitated, his search is less than thorough, but it's not hard to look under desks.

Looking out the window, he sees people running outside. He takes aim and shoots.
The last shot he reserves for himself.

This scenario is fictitious, but only marginally so. Scenes like this play out far too often in the news cycle.

According to the FBI, the average active-shooter incident is over in 12 minutes and, in almost half the cases, ends before the police even get there. In that time, a person can walk the length of an office building several times.

In that same time, a potential target can make himself much more difficult to find and kill - if he knows what to do, and makes a plan based on good information.
Not everyone does.

Crossing-up protective measures
The terms used different types of sheltering and procedures may add to the confusion.
Emergency sheltering is post-disaster - when your home or office may be too badly damaged for safe use. Locations may be a mass shelter, like a school gym or hangar, or an expedient shelter like a tent or RV.

Natural disaster sheltering comes into play when officials don't want you to travel, but to shelter immediately where you are. Hurricanes, blizzards and tornados are all examples leading to this.

Shelter in place is not designed to counter active shooters, storms, or disasters - it's for toxic gasses or vapors that might come from a chemical spill or intentional release.
In a SiP room, occupants seal off the ventilation system and doors. It's generally in an interior room with no windows or access to the outside air. If the room does have windows, they're sealed with plastic and tape.

"I've had it happen real-world during tornados. People will shelter in place and put up the plastic," said Tech. Sgt. Leslie Baxter, Office of Emergency Management non-commissioned officer in charge.

To some, natural disaster and emergency sheltering procedures might sound like they fall under "sheltering in place" - even if the person is told to hide from a gunman, it might seem very similar in concept if you're just looking at the terms.

During the recent shooting at Fort Hood, some media reported that people were sheltering in place. Makes sense in English, but not in reality.

To help people distinguish between the terms, JBER has a different command to initiate active shooter protocols.

"The term for active shooter [on JBER] is 'lockdown, lockdown, lockdown'," said Phil Goss, JBER Emergency Manager, "The reason we use 'lockdown' here is because of all the confusion with 'shelter in place.' They're two totally different procedures."

Active shooters - escape or evade
"Know your environment. Know your surroundings. Take time to imagine what you would do," Michael Wilder, 673d SFS Standardization and Evaluations, said.

According to police, the idea is to get away quickly. Barring that possibility, conceal yourself from the gunman, preferably in a locked office (block the door with something heavy), hide under/behind your desk or anything large, silence all cell phone ringers; turn off TV's and radios.

Call 911 and let them know the approximate location of the shooter. If he's too close for you to talk safely, leave the line open so the operators can listen in.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, if the gunman is close and you're in imminent danger, you have a better chance of survival if you attempt to incapacitate him. Whatever you do, once you decide to take action, commit - don't half-do it. This is a last resort, but it may save your life.

"People need to talk about it. In your work area, what would everybody do if that were to happen? Plan on what your actions would be," Wilder said.

For more information about what to do for an active shooter, contact your security manager, anti-terrorism representative or Security Forces to help your office make a plan.