How to Prepare Your Employees for an Active Shooter Incident
According to the FBI, “An active shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”
Data from the FBI shows that 42% of active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2017 occurred in businesses. This percentage is higher than any other industry such as education (20.8%) and government (10%).
This means it’s crucial for businesses to train and educate their employees on how to handle active shooter situations.
If you don’t already have an active shooter plan in place, develop one.
In the meantime, here are some steps you and your employees can take to prepare and handle an active shooter incident:
- Make a plan. This is the first thing you and your employees need to do to prepare for an active shooter. Everyone needs to know what to do and how to do it if an active shooter ever enters your business.
- Encourage your employees to sign up for active shooting training. If you and your employees take part in training, you will all be better educated on how to handle active shooter situations.
- If you see something, say something. It’s better to be safe than sorry. If something does not look or sound right, let someone know.
- Know where all exits are. Make sure you and your employees know how to get out of the building if anything were to happen.
- Know good places to hide. Make sure there are places where you and your employees can safely hide and stay out of danger. Once you have found a hiding place, stay silent and make sure your phone will not go off.
- If it is safe to run, do so and get as far away from the building as possible. Leave your belongings behind. You will not have time to worry about grabbing all your stuff.
Please know that there are multiple ways you can prepare for an active shooter. However, one of the best things you can do is plan.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to help your business and your employees prepare for an active shooter.
At Allied Insurance Managers, we believe in helping you and your business to prepare for the unexpected.
Please be sure to check with your community to see what options may be available to you and your employees for active shooter preparedness.