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Responding to a Sudden and Lethal Attack in a Public Space

It used to be reasonable to think that by avoiding known trouble spots we could be fairly certain that the safety of ourselves and our families was largely assured.

However, whilst it is debatable whether the world has become more dangerous in recent years, it is undoubtedly the case that, from a security perspective, the world has become a more unpredictable place. The widening spread of terrorism has seen the rise of marauding attacks, with well-equipped gunmen suddenly appearing in places like shopping and city centres and airports, randomly shooting as many people as possible; using semi-automatic weapons. Events in the Westfield Shopping Centre in Nairobi, tourist hotels in Tunisia and attacks in clubs and supermarkets in Paris dramatically illustrate this.

Similarly, there has been a rise in such attacks by people whose motivation may not be political and indeed, may simply be grievance based; particularly in countries where access to guns is relatively easy.   The events in Nice and Dallas are horrific examples of ordinary people being caught up in an event that they could not have prepared for!

As shocking as these so called ‘active shooter’ incidents are, they are different in one specific factor from bombing incidents. With a bombing attack, there is frequently no warning and the result is that anybody unlucky enough to be caught within the blast zone can suddenly become a casualty and there is nothing that they can do about it.

However, with marauding attacks, surprising as it may seem, you can take action to reduce the chances of you or your family becoming victims.

The US Department of Homeland Security defines an active shooter as follows:

An Active Shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearm(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.

It is important to understand that these events frequently take place in confined and populated areas and there is no obvious pattern or method to their selection of victims, apart from the fact that they are places where there will be a great deal of people.

These situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. They can be over within 10 to 15 minutes before law enforcement arrives on the scene. It therefore makes sense for people to be prepared to handle these situations. This isn’t to say that there is an easy or necessarily a 100% effective answer but critically there are things you can do to mitigate the risks to yourself and others.

In most parts of the world the authorities will be responding to the incident, security related law enforcement will be mobilised and in due course the incident will be resolved; frequently with the perpetrators being killed or captured.

But this response will take time, hopefully tens of minutes but possibly longer. In the meantime serious casualties can result. Therefore, what we are talking about in this editorial, is trying to buy time until the ‘cavalry’ arrives.

Authorities in the USA, UK and elsewhere have issued guidance which if followed can make a difference, possibly a lifesaving one, to those who follow it. In the UK this is summarised under heading of Run – Hide – Tell. In the USA this is generally summarised slightly differently i.e. Run – Hide – Fight but the underlying principles are the same.    

So, what does this mean in practice?

The UK’s National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has emphasised that in the UK such attacks are very rare. However, the wider reality is that many people and their families move around the world (on holiday, on business, visiting relatives and sometimes travelling between homes). Regrettably airports (Brussels, Istanbul) city centres (London, Paris, and Mumbai) and places across the USA have increasingly become targets for these kind of marauding attacks.

NPCC have therefore has issued the following guidance:

Run to a place of safety. This is a far better option than to surrender or negotiate. If there’s nowhere to go then…

Hide. It’s better to hide than to confront. It’s better to turn your phone to silent and turnoff vibrate. Barricade yourself in if you can. Then finally and only when it is safe to do so…

Tell the police using the emergency number 999

Run/Hide/Tell is a useful headline but associated with this there are a number of practical things you can do to improve your survival chances if you are unfortunate enough to be caught in one of these incidents.

These are best briefed/rehearsed in detail but broadly:

  • Always try to remain aware of your surroundings and potential dangers.
  • Get as far away from the active shooter as quickly as possible – the further away you are the less likely you are to be shot.
  • Hiding increases your chances of not being shot.
  • Hiding behind solid structures likely to stop a bullet further increases your survival chances.
  • When law enforcement arrives, make sure they know where you are and that you are not perceived as one of the perpetrators.

If you have undergone awareness training and exercises in this area, be ready to take a leadership role and issue clear instructions to those with you. Follow your natural inclination to do this with family members but also extend this to others present.

Here are some examples of what you can to help yourself:

  • When you are in a building, get into the habit of knowing where the exits are. This is a good thing to do for safety (e.g. in the event of fire) reasons anyway.
  • If you can escape then do so. Help others to escape but if they don’t want to do so, still get out yourself, leaving your belongings behind.
  • If you can’t escape, hide, ideally in a place which conceals and protects you from shooting, bearing in mind that shots can easily penetrate many structures.
  • If you hide in a room try to barricade it to prevent the shooter entering, and also take cover behind any heavy furniture etc.
  • Remember to silence your phone and any other sources of noise e.g. TVs, and keep people quiet.
  • In the extreme, given no other choice, look for and be prepared to use a weapon to defend yourself.
  • When you judge it is safe to do so, call the police, explain the situation and tell them where you are located.
  • When police/security forces arrive and you make contact, obey instructions from them, keep your hands visible and leave with them if told to do so.

If you travel frequently to fragile countries, the response from Police may not be as robust or professional as you would expect in the UK. Training packages in this and other travel risk areas can be provided for you, your family or organisation. If you wish to discuss this further, please call the Head of Security, Rick Mounfield or email rick@edenprivatestaff.com

July 15, 2016

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