News reports are continuously filled with mentions of active shooters or mass killings. Recent incidents include the VTA shooting in San Jose, the mass shooting at a club in Miami, the situation at King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado, and the list goes on and on.
The statistics are startling. In just 2019, the FBI designated 28 shootings in 16 states as active shooter incidents. The report also found:
The FBI has defined an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.” In most cases, active shooters use one or more types of firearm(s) and have no pattern or method to their selection of victims. These situations can evolve quickly, with many incidents being over within 10 to 15 minutes before first responders even arrive on the scene. However, some incidents continue until stopped by law enforcement, suicide or an intervention by the victims. The majority of attackers are insiders and are familiar with their surroundings.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines workplace violence as “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the worksite.” It can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide. Specific jobs, such as delivery drivers, healthcare professionals, customer service representatives, or law enforcement, can have a higher stress level of stress, leading to a potential increase in workplace violence.
Matt Zender, SVP of Worker's Compensation Strategy at AmTrust explains further, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants, grocery stores and essential businesses took a harder hit. They had, and still have, a higher potential of workplace violence. They have overworked employees and customers who are not happy because of with health and workplace safety mandates. A lot of the other industries, everybody went home. Overall crime during COVID-19 went down, but homicide related to stress went up.”
There is no single element that can predict a violent act, but when a combination of factors comes together, there can be an increased risk of violence. Therefore, organizations must have clear policies and procedures stating that violence in the workplace will not be tolerated, and there will be severe consequences for those who commit it.
Active shooter situations are unpredictable, but there can be warning signs to watch out for that can mitigate the risk of a future attack and ensure the safety of those around you. An active shooter in a workplace can be a current or former employee or their acquaintances. Employers and co-workers should be trained to look for behaviors that could indicate potential violence, including:
Ensure your business is prepared for an active shooter event by recognizing the potential workplace violence indicators, performing a security survey of your facility, conducting employee training, and developing an Emergency Action Plan (EAP). In addition, training your staff for an active shooter situation can help prepare them to respond and help minimize the potential loss of life.
Jeff Corder, VP of Loss Control at AmTrust shares the importance of active shooter training, “As restrictions are lifted, remote workers are returning and customer numbers are increasing, making it all the more important to protect against the risk of violence in the workplace by identifying stressors. The pre-pandemic pressures and aggravations are still there. Employers need to understand and anticipate these challenges and train their staff to understand what do if a situation becomes escalated.”
An EAP should have input from various departments, including human resources, the training team, facility operators, property managers and local law enforcement and/or emergency responders. The Department of Homeland Security recommends that the EAP should have the following:
Active shooter training exercises are an effective way for employees to understand how to respond in an active shooter situation. Local law enforcement teams are an excellent resource for developing these types of exercises. The training exercise should include:
Recognizing the behavioral warning signs is just one way to help avert an active shooter incident. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommends that businesses can also prevent these types of situations by following these security measures:
During an active shooter event, employees and managers need to be both mentally and physically able to deal with the situation to protect their own life and the lives of others. A manager should stay calm, lock and barricade the doors, and evacuate all personnel to a safe area via a pre-planned safe route. The three preferred options to an active shooter situation in order of response are: run, hide and fight.
Running or escaping is the first response option for an active shooter in your workplace or vicinity. Quickly determine the most reasonable and accessible escape path to exit the premises. Leave your belongings behind and keep your hands visible at all times. Help others escape if possible and prevent others from entering the area where the active shooter may be located.
If no rapid escape route is possible, seek cover behind any available object that eliminates a direct line of sight from the shooter. Block any entry to your hiding place with heavy furniture and lock the doors. However, try not to restrict your options for movement out of your hiding area. Remain quiet and make sure that your cell phone is on silent mode. Stay in place until law enforcement arrives.
The last and final option is to fight. Fighting should only be a last resort and only attempted when your life is in imminent danger. For this type of response, it is critical to fully commit to your actions to incapacitate the active shooter by acting with physical aggression. Yell as loud as possible, improvise weapons and utilize any object to throw at and harm the shooter.
Once it is safe to do so, call 911. Remain alert for potential additional attacks and assist others if you can. Give the 911 operator or law enforcement the following information:
When they arrive on the scene, law enforcement's immediate purpose is to stop the active shooter and eliminate any additional threats. Then, they will proceed directly to the area where the last shots were heard. The secondary team will assess injuries and direct the survivors to a safe location where witnesses can be identified and questioned, and the situation can be put under control.
Active shooter survivors and victims should remain calm, put down any items, raise their hands and spread fingers, avoid making any quick movements, pointing, screaming or yelling and heed the directions of the first responders. Do not leave the safe area until instructed by law enforcement.
After the active shooter is no longer a threat and the situation is under control, managers and human resources should perform post-event assessment activities, including:
Courtesy of AmTrust Financial
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Disclaimer: WorkersCompensation.com publishes independently generated writings from a variety of workers' compensation industry stakeholders. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of WorkersCompensation.com.
