SA Laird W. Hightower FBI Dallas, Texas

SA Laird W. Hightower FBI Dallas, Texas

Dallas Division of the FBI FBI Dallas includes approximately 125,000 square miles of the northern half of Texas. SA Laird W. Hightower, FBI Dallas Firearms, Tactical, Defensive Tactics, and ALERRT Active Shooter Instructor.

ACTIVE SHOOTER

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO AN ACTIVE SHOOTER 1999 1991 1966 1984 2007

ACTIVE SHOOTER RESPONSE Texas Tower 1966 resolved by patrol created need for SWAT. Columbine High School 1999-13 killed, 21 wounded. Recognition that these events need to be addressed by PATROL response. Virginia Tech 2007-32 killed, 17 wounded in two hours. Aurora, Co 2012 12 killed, 58 wounded in movie theater. Newtown, Ct 2012 26 killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, including 20 children. Washington Navy Yard 2013-12 killed.

Opening Statement Violence in the work place, schools, malls, churches and other venues is escalating. Innocent victims are falling prey to armed suspects with one mission in mind - committing mass murder. Since active shooter incidents are dynamic events we cannot suggest a single set of best practices for a private sector response, but can make recommendations to mitigate loss of life. This presentation provides law enforcement with awareness talking points for schools, churches, and private sector training. This presentation also provides law enforcement with considerations for local/regional LEO training.

Topics For Discussion Active Shooter profile Police response post Columbine Hostage/Barricade vs. AS AS Concepts & Principles Security measures Security personnel Recommendations Lock down procedures Sheltering in place vs. Evacuation A.D.D. (avoid, deny, defend) a/k/a Run, Hide, Fight (*average response 3 minutes). Police response training for employees and security staff.

One or more subjects who participate in a shooting spree, demonstrating their intent to continuously harm others. Their overriding objective appears to be mass murder, rather than other criminal conduct, such as robbery, hostage taking, etc.

Profile Desire to kill without concern for their safety or threat of capture Normally has intended targets and will search them out and accepts targets of opportunity while searching Will continue to move through building until stopped by law enforcement, suicide, or barricades ( with or without hostages ) Most Active Shooter incidents are over in 30 minutes or less (average 12 minutes)

Active Shooter Profile Someone with an axe to grind or an in-justice collector. Non Gender Specific though usually white male. Has gone to great lengths to plan their attack. Usually targets victims in their own age group work, school, home, church, etc. Does not plan an exit strategy. No geographic region is excluded

Active Shooter Facts Often in small and medium size communities (smaller police presence). Average incident lasts 12 minutes (37% less than 5 minutes). Overwhelmingly a single, male subject. Commit suicide 50% of time. 2% also employ an IED. The shooter often stops as soon as he hears or sees law enforcement and/or turns aggression on LE. 57% of time an officer arrives while shooting still underway (3 min.). Patrol officers are most likely responding alone or with one other officer.

Profile/Statistics 1966-2010 Sex 4%of active shooter suspects are female ( 8 of 202 incidents), 96% are male Age Median age of active shooter suspects is 35 years of age: school shooting suspects between 15-19 years of age Non school shooting suspects between 35-44 years of age Number single attacker-98% Relationship Not limited to downsized employees (fired). One third of suspects were fired and the rest were current employees Number of weapons 36% involved more than 1 weapon Note: NYPD statistics

Incident Resolution Force Number Percent Applied force 93 46% No applied 28 14% Suicide 80 40% Fled 1 1%

Delaware July 26, 1764 Earliest recorded school shooting 4 American Indians stormed schoolhouse of white settlers 9 killed, including children

Texas Tower August 1, 1966 Charles Whitman - Former Marine First killed mother and wife Killed 14 Wounded 30 Two patrol officers ended attack - McCoy and Martinez Era of specialization (SWAT)

Columbine April 20, 1999 13 killed, 21 wounded 45 minutes for SWAT teams to enter Catalyst for Active Shooter training to increase response time for first responders

Police Response Post Columbine Stop the Killing and Save Lives Exposure to Active Shooter Training. Take the fight to the bad guy. Re-evaluated firearms and tactical training. Adopted long gun programs. Better equipment for first responders. Better awareness programs for schools and businesses.

Virginia Tech 2007 Suspect Cho Sueng Hui 32 killed, 17 wounded Barricaded doors Rescue aspect Citizen training

Ft. Hood Nov. 5, 2009 Military base Major Hasan 13 killed, 32 wounded Sgt. Kimberly Munley Active Shooter trained

Aurora Colorado, July 2012 12 killed, 58 wounded Movie theater

Newtown Connecticut, Dec. 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary 20 children killed 6 adults killed Suspect (20) confronted and commits suicide

Signs of an Active Shooting Hear or see gunshots Bodies on the floor / bloodied victims Lot of yelling, screaming, praying, disbelief, denial People running and hiding

FBI AS initiative The FBI is a member of a White House team put together after the Newtown, CT shooting. -The President tasked the FBI to lead the federal effort to train law enforcement and first responders on active shooter situations and find ways to minimize loss of life and improve coordination efforts in mass shooting situations. -The FBI developed a three pronged approach starting with assisting/adopting ALERRT to train thousands of local and state officers who will be the first on the scene.

HOSTAGE or BARRICADED SUBJECT VS. ACTIVE SHOOTER

CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE: Hostage/Barricade One or more terrorists or criminals hold people against their will and try to hold off authorities by force, threatening to kill the hostages if provoked or attacked. SWAT will resolve hostage/barricade crisis

CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE: Hostage/Barricade The 5 Cs: Contain Control Communicate Call SWAT/Negotiators Create a Plan

The Burden of Initial Assessment Much depends on initial assessment and first response: Respond to a Hostage or Barricaded Subject situation as if it were an Active Shooter and lives are at risk because Officers & Agents are exposed to unnecessary risk & you remove opportunities for non-lethal means of resolution. Respond to an Active Shooter situation as if it were a Hostage or Barricaded Subject situation and lives are at risk due to the Stopwatch of Death effect.

Deaths The Stopwatch of Death Number of murder attempts Number of Minutes = X 1966 Texas Tower =.5 /min (murder attempts per minute) 2007 Virginia Tech = 7.9 /min 2012 Century 16 Theatre, Aurora, Co = 33.3/min Trend is steadily going up Mass murder, but mass murder quickly Time

ACTIVE SHOOTER POLICE RESPONSE Concepts & Principles Stay Together 540 Cover/Security Around the Team Communicate Cover Angles Threshold Evaluation (Slice the Pie) Speed of Movement

ACTIVE SHOOTER POLICE RESPONSE Priority of Life Scale Innocent Civilians First Responders Actors/Suspects Property

ACTIVE SHOOTER POLICE RESPONSE Post Engagement Priorities - SIM Security Isolate, Distract & Neutralize Gunman. Immediate Action Plan Establish hallway security and follow-on plan. Medical identify, triage & treat injured

Lock Down vs. Evacuation What type of threat is present. Is the threat nearby or in another location. Emergency response procedures should be initiated immediately and reflect this. Denying access to an armed intruder buys precious time for others and provides an opportunity for emergency responders to locate the threat and close distance.

Lock Down Considerations Employees can fortify doors using eye bolts, rope or furniture. Employees should turn lights off, and move away from doors. When possible look for escape routes, including windows on 1 st and 2 nd floors. Have a signal for all clear.

If an Incident Occurs Security Personnel Should Initiate emergency response plan. Safely maintain a visual on suspect if possible (armed vs. unarmed security officers). Continue to communicate all pertinent information to 911. Maintain control of elevators (lobby). Maintain control of access points. Designate personnel to link up with first responders (master keys, pass cards, codes, building diagrams). Designate a safe zone for evacuees / staging area for emergency responders, their vehicles and medical.

Security Personnel Have building engineers / maintenance personnel available for law enforcement logistical needs. Mandate that all security staff have radio communications with the security control room and other security personnel on site. Have security cameras in main hallways, elevators, stairwells, and parking garages (monitoring capabilities from the security control room). Have a public relations representative available post shooting / crisis incident.

Recommendations Procedures: Realistic security assessment to determine the facilities vulnerabilities of an active shooter. Identify evacuation routes and practice under varying conditions (special needs). Designate shelter locations (thick walls, solid doors, communication devices, distress alarms). Designate a point of contact with knowledge of facility security and floor plan to liaison with police. Vary security guards patterns & routes where possible. Establish a central command station for building security. Hire off duty police officers or security personnel. (Require that they ve taken Rapid Response To Active Shooter Training as a condition for employment or exposure to similar stress inoculation training).

Recommendations (cont.) Systems: Credential based access control system that provide accurate attendance reporting, limit unauthorized entry. Closed circuit television-viewable from a central command station. Real time public address communication infrastructure (intercom system by floor or building and text messaging and e-mail) Elevator system controlled or locked. Printed escape routes (accessible for employees and police)

AS Preparation Training Training for these incidents is necessary to minimize confusion and casualties. Awareness Training vs. Hands On (be proactive). Employers should routinely conduct drills so that problems can be identified and corrected. After action critiques are necessary. Criticism should remain constructive while recommendations for corrective measures made. Observe employees acting differently or going through life altering events. How to respond to law enforcement during an AS.

Individual Concerns First priority is yourself Help others evacuate Help others first aid

Individual Considerations Evacuate v. Lock down 911 or security Relay calmly: Your location (building, floor, office) Number of people (injured) Suspect info. (description, weapon, race/gender, clothing, type of weapon, backpack, known shooter) Remain quiet if in lockdown, phone on vibrate/silent. Police interaction (hands up, follow commands)

Remember A.D.D. Run, Hide, Fight AVOID (Run) Use any means to avoid the intruder. Look for escape routes and keep running from the scene until safe. DENY (Hide) Deny intruder access. Shelter in place by locking and barricading doors and windows, places to hide, lights out. DEFEND (Fight) self-defense may be your only option. Use any means to do so, aggressive survival pack mentality, swarm the shooter at the access point, do not stop.

Defense (fight or flight) Escaping is ALWAYS the first option. At times, victims may find themselves trapped and self-defense is required to prevent an attack. We must always be mentally prepared to defend ourselves. Employees and victims should arm themselves with any means available.

Improvised Weapon Types Edged Weapons for cutting/stabbing: scissors, letter opener, folding knife, paper cutter, pens, keys Impact Weapons for blunt trauma: furniture, 3 hole punch, fire extinguisher, desk name plate, keyboard, desk telephone Flexible Weapons for strangulation: t-shirt, jacket, computer cords, belts

Defense (continued) People vs. Sheeple. The best time to act is now, time is not on your side. Engage your attacker at the first opportunity. This may be your only chance (Doing nothing will likely result in serious injury or death). Cell phones (open line) Licensed gun carriers (plain clothes response).

Police Response (for civilians) Priority is to locate, isolate, contain, and stop the killing Will bypass non-threats to get to shooter Nothing in your hands Hands up, fingers spread, try to remain calm Try not to jump out or surprise officers Weapons may be pointed at you May be searched and handcuffed Remember, officers do not know who you are Medical is conducted by secondary responders Time and manpower intensive

Conclusion We have addressed several awareness issues when dealing with an armed intruder. There are never guarantees and innocent lives may be lost. The goal is to have an effective plan in place. A plan that maximizes the efforts between the general public and law enforcement and affords the best chance for survival and minimizing casualties. Hard to predict when and where an Active Shooter incident will take place (still look for signs) Each response is different and may require a different response (remain flexible) Never say Never

ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Intro ALERRT course is 16 hours (2 days) www.alerrt.com SA Laird W. Hightower (FBI DL). Laird.Hightower@ic.fbi.gov

QUESTIONS?