RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.

Three words strung together to make a powerful statement.  Three words we never thought we needed to know in this context.

Annapolis.

Eleven staffers were in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette that day as the gunman rampaged through the building.  Five people died.  Surviving staff members trembled under their desks. The room smelled of gunpowder as police fearlessly swept in, less than two minutes after the first 911 calls. Some tended to victims, others began the search for the gunman.  My heart goes out to the families, the victims, the staffers.  Just a nightmare.  I still struggle to understand.  Our own company was shaken, as this act of violence was too close to home.

In an editorial Sunday, the Gazette said "it would never forget the avalanche of love. But sadly, the response was not all warm and fuzzy," the editorial noted:  "Here’s what else we won’t forget: Death threats and emails from people we don’t know celebrating our loss, or the people who called for one of our reporters to get fired because she got angry and cursed on national television after witnessing her friends getting shot." 

From the increase in mass killings to the “keyboard terrorists” – this seems to be the new norm … sadly.  We should not have to learn what to do in an active shooter situation, but we do.

For those of us who have responsibility for our employees and their safety, these events weighed heavily. If your teams have not conducted research on active shooter situations, ready.gov describes what to do in an active shooter situation.  Remember these three words:  RUN, HIDE, FIGHT.  From the website:

Be Informed

• Sign up for an active shooter training.
• If you see something, say something to an authority right away.
• Sign up to receive local emergency alerts and register your work and personal contact information with any work sponsored alert system.
• Be aware of your environment and any possible dangers.

Make a Plan

• Make a plan with your family, and ensure everyone knows what they would do, if confronted with an active shooter.
• Look for the two nearest exits anywhere you go, and have an escape path in mind & identify places you could hide.
• Understand the plans for individuals with disabilities or other access and functional needs.

During

RUN and escape, if possible.

• Getting away from the shooter or shooters is the top priority
• Leave your belongings behind and get away.
• Help others escape, if possible, but evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow.
• Warn and prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be.
• Call 911 when you are safe, and describe shooter, location, and weapons.

HIDE, if escape is not possible.

• Get out of the shooter’s view and stay very quiet.
• Silence all electronic devices and make sure they won’t vibrate.
• Lock and block doors, close blinds, and turn off lights.
• Don’t hide in groups- spread out along walls or hide separately to make it more difficult for the shooter.
• Try to communicate with police silently. Use text message or social media to tag your location, or put a sign in a window.
• Stay in place until law enforcement gives you the all clear.
• Your hiding place should be out of the shooter's view and provide protection if shots are fired in your direction.

FIGHT as an absolute last resort.

• Commit to your actions and act as aggressively as possible against the shooter.
• Recruit others to ambush the shooter with makeshift weapons like chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, books, etc.
• Be prepared to cause severe or lethal injury to the shooter.
• Throw items and improvise weapons to distract and disarm the shooter.

After

• Keep hands visible and empty.
• Know that law enforcement’s first task is to end the incident, and they may have to pass injured along the way.
• Officers may be armed with rifles, shotguns, and/or handguns and may use pepper spray or tear gas to control the situation.
• Officers will shout commands and may push individuals to the ground for their safety.
• Follow law enforcement instructions and evacuate in the direction they come from, unless otherwise instructed.
• Take care of yourself first, and then you may be able to help the wounded before first responders arrive.
• If the injured are in immediate danger, help get them to safety.
• While you wait for first responder to arrive, provide first aid. Apply direct pressure to wounded areas and use tourniquets if you have been trained to do so.
• Turn wounded people onto their sides if they are unconscious and keep them warm.
• Consider seeking professional help for you and your family to cope with the long-term effects of the trauma.

People in this world of tragedy divide their lives into “before” and “after”: before they survived carnage, or lost a loved one, and everything after. They call themselves the “club no one wants to join,” but it is a group that keeps getting bigger.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by these mass tragedies.  But thoughts and prayers need to lead to real world action.  We all need to be a little more diligent, attentive and vocal in taking back our society and culture where our kids, our families, our neighbors can feel safe. Speak up a bit more, take a bit more action, do not be complicit.

Together.  We.  Win.


Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

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