If you find yourself involved in an active shooter situation, try to remain calm and call 911 or Public Safety at 509-7232 as soon as possible. An active shooter is a person or persons who appear to be actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people and in most cases are bearing a firearm(s). Active shooter situations are dynamic and evolve rapidly. They demand an immediate response by the community along with the immediate deployment of public safety to prevent/stop the shooting and limit harm to the community. This document provides guidance for faculty, staff, students, and visitors.  It describes what to expect from public safety in an active shooter situation. Be aware that as in all emergencies, the 911 system may become overwhelmed. For additional information, see the guidelines noted below.

Guidelines

If an active shooter is outside your building or inside the building you are in, you should:

1. Try to remain calm. “Run” to an area of safety.
2. Seek a path that provides cover and concealment from the assailant if possible.

If escape is not possible, “Hide”, proceed to a room that can be locked or barricaded.

1. Warn other faculty, staff, students and visitors on your way to take immediate shelter.
2. Lock and barricade doors and windows.
3. Turn off the lights.
4. Close blinds.
5. Turn off radios or other devices that emit sound.
6. Keep yourself out of sight, stay away from windows and take adequate cover/protection, i.e. concrete walls, thick desks, filing cabinets.
7. Silence cell phones. Have one person call 911 or Public Safety at 509-7232 and provide:
   1. “This is (give your name). I am in (give your location) and there is an active shooter on campus.”
   2. If you were able to see the offender(s), give a description of the persons’(s’) gender, race, clothing, type of weapon(s), location last observed, direction of travel, and identity – if known.
   3. If you observed any victims, give a description of the location and number of victims.
   4. If you observed any suspicious devices, provide the location observed and a description.
   5. If you heard any explosions, provide a description and location.

Wait patiently until a uniformed police officer, or a college official provides an “all clear.” Unfamiliar voices may be an active shooter trying to lure you from safety. Do not respond to voice commands until you can verify with certainty that they are being issued by a police officer or college official. Attempts to rescue people should only be attempted if it can be accomplished without further endangering the persons inside a secured area. Depending on circumstances, consideration may also be given to exiting ground floor windows as safely and quietly as possible.

If an active shooter enters your office or classroom, you should:

1. Try to remain calm.
2. Try not to do anything that will provoke the active shooter. If there is no possibility of escape or hiding, “Fight” as a last resort when it is imminent that your life is in danger.
3. If the active shooter(s) leaves the area, barricade the room or proceed to a safer location.

If you are in an outside area and encounter an active shooter, you should

1. Try to remain calm.
2. Move away from the active shooter or the sounds of gunshot(s) and/or explosion(s).
3. Look for appropriate locations for cover/protection, i.e. brick walls, retaining walls, large trees, parked vehicles, or any other object that may stop bullet penetration.
4. Try to warn other faculty, staff, students and visitors to take immediate shelter.
5. Have one person call 911 or Public Safety at 509-7232 and provide:
   1. “This is (give your name) I am in (give your location) and there is an active shooter on campus.”
   2. If you were able to see the offender(s), give a description of the person’s(s’) gender, race, clothing, type of weapon(s), location last observed, direction of travel, and identity – if known.
   3. If you observed any victims, give a description of the location and number of victims.
   4. If you observed any suspicious devices, provide the location observed and a description.
   5. If you heard any explosions, provide a description and location. Attempts to rescue people should only be attempted if it can be accomplished without further endangering the persons inside a secured area.

The objectives of responding police officers are

1. Immediately engage or contain the active shooter(s) in order to stop life threatening behavior.
2. Call in necessary additional agencies and first responders.
3. Identify threats such as improvised explosive devices.
4. Identify victims to facilitate medical care, interviews and counseling.

Investigating police officers responding to an active shooter are trained to proceed immediately to the area in which shots were last heard in order to stop the shooting as quickly as possible. The first responding officers may be in teams. They may be dressed in normal patrol uniforms, or they may be wearing external ballistic vests, Kevlar helmets, or other tactical gear. The officers may be armed with rifles, shotguns or handguns. Do exactly as the officers instruct. The first responding officers will be focused on stopping the active shooter and creating a safe environment for medical assistance to be brought in to aid the injured.

Remember – Run, Hide, or Fight.