What Would You Do If An Active Shooter Was In Your Building?

Helping You Prepare for the Unthinkable

We admit it, this isn't a topic we expected to blog about. 😨 But when we came across these agency resources, we knew they were important to share with our small business clients.

Most people who have experienced workplace violence likely didn't expect it to happen to them.

In light of the Poway Chabad attack, sadly, we include places of worship as potential targets. The checklist applies here, as well.

As employee benefits advisers, we work hand in hand with HR and compliance issues. We've provided a free, comprehensive, downloadable guide on what to implement in your own office (or church):

Good practices for coping with an active shooter situation may not all seem like common sense. Here are some of the highlights:

• Be aware of your environment and any possible dangers.

• Take note of the two nearest exits in any facility you visit.

• If you are in an office, stay there and secure the door.

• If you are in a hallway, get into a room and secure the door.

• As a last resort, attempt to take the active shooter down. When the shooter is at close range and you cannot flee, your chance of survival is much greater if you try to incapacitate him/her. 

For those in higher risk buildings, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offers this downloadable PDF booklet.

Most importantly, call 9-1-1 when it is safe to do so! If possible, you’ll want to provide:

• The location of the shooter(s)

• Physical description

• Types and number of weapons

• How many victims

When law enforcement arrives:

• Remain calm

• Follow the instructions as given

• Drop any items in your hands

• Raise your arms

• Keep your hands visible at all times

We hope you find these tips useful - and of course, we hope you'll never need to use them.

As it pertains to the mental health aspect, here is a related article from the Washington Post on the quest for answers that inevitably follows these shootings.

Online Active Shooter Safety Course

We now offer the online course, “Active Shooter - How to Survive” for management and employees.

It can be taken alone or with the mandatory (for 5 or more employees) California course on “Sexual Harassment Prevention” training.

Here are all of the other available HR Online Courses.

Reach out to Corina with any questions.