A high powered rifle that can fire automatic or single shot.
For the foreseeable future, Americans are faced with shootings anytime anywhere. On the street, at work, inside a shopping center and of course as we see way too many times here…at school.
There isn’t a high school in America that’s considered safe…no matter how many $$$$$ have been thrown at the on campus security.
That’s because the vast majority of high school shootings are done by a student or ex student known to that school…so invariably they’re already inside, blending with everyone else. If there are no red flags before hand, they will strike at will.
This year alone there have been more school shootings than any other since the beginning of 2018 and we have a way to go yet as it’s only October.
I’ve already blogged, given talks, and had articles published about how best to survive a mass shooting. https://bobshepherdauthor.com/2018/10/09/a-formula-for-surviving-school-shootings/
But even so, way too many high schools and colleges around the States still go for the out of date lockdown only drill, where students are made to remain in their class rooms and hide.
In my view this is intentionally fed in by local police forces and security companies, because local police forces love containment. There’s containment in prisons, there’s containment whenever there’s trouble on our streets. It makes sense, but not in schools during a shooting.
That containment aids the police when they answer the call. If kids are locked in classrooms then there’s no one charging around the corridors or through windows and doors running free.
Well that’s all well and good during a lockdown drill. But in reality, no matter what the school protocol is for an active shooter, kids will run automatically, or just stand there and piss their pants…no different to adults. Remember, the police aren’t going to be there…it could take some time…minutes maybe…yet it only takes seconds to kill dozens of individuals with a high powered rifle, a modern shotgun with a high capacity magazine or a semi automatic pistol. We can only thank ourselves lucky that most school shooters are “green” when it comes to guns, yet even so some still manage a too large kill rate.
As one example of an American high school carrying out active shooter drills, in the last 9 years all they have done is lock down the students, a couple of local police (if available) will come around and tell them to remain quiet, stay off their phones, and hide behind any form of furniture or barricade that they can use.
To me, they’re like fish in a barrel, caught cold with no where to go! Just because you have cover from view, does not mean that you have cover from fire (gun shots). The shooter could blindly shoot through doors, soft walls etc, and still kill individuals. The bullets especially from a high velocity weapon can smash through doors, furniture and people!
The only answer to survival is for high school staff and pupils alike to be taught the options’ based RUN HIDE FIGHT.
As per my post inserted above, students above the age of 12 (I taught my own kids from the age of 8) and their staff and parents should all be taught this…it’s an absolute life saver, no matter where you find yourself at the time.
The media in the USA jump on mass shootings that are only of a likely high death toll (great for clicks!). There are shootings around the country every day, it’s sadly become the norm and not worth reporting on. They get the usual talking heads on to go through…guns…gun sales…mental health. But very rarely do they talk about the school’s protocols for maximum survival.
Given the state of the country at present, I’m shocked when I talk with parents about RUN HIDE FIGHT and how it should be taught in our schools, and then some say…”oh yes, that’s what we’re taught at our work place.” It’s tough to remain calm when I then ask them why they don’t push it for their own kids’ school?
America is not getting any safer. I’m a great believer in knowledge dispels fear. Learn all about your options of RUN HIDE FIGHT, then park that knowledge in the back of your mind…it’s then there to use immediately should that dreadful day ever arrive at your high school! At the same time, the media need to cover these options based training methods when covering high school shootings, and show the American public that most schools’ protocols are badly out of date.
Bob Shepherd 