active shooter response

active shooter training

Four Active Shooter Attacks in Less than a Week – The Motives?

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Church Security, Corporate Security, Defend Systems, News, School Security

In less than a week, our country experienced four separate active shooter attacks that left eight people dead, including two of the gunmen, and seven others injured.  In a current news cycle that is dominated by politics, pandemics, and protests, these were but small blips on the radar of sensationalism that tends to be dominating our society.

On Tuesday, June 23rd, inside an Applebee’s restaurant located in St. Louis, a lone gunman opened fire on customers dining inside, striking three women, killing one.  The suspect had been in the restaurant for up to forty minutes prior to the attack, pacing around and acting strangely, according to reports.  He left the restaurant momentarily, then came back inside and began his rampage on the unsuspecting victims dining inside.  He fled the scene but was taken into custody the next day.  Currently, there is no known motive or connection between the shooter and the victims.

The second attack occurred on Friday, June 26th, at a Bunn-O-Matic warehouse facility in Springfield, Illinois.  The suspect, an employee of the facility, shot and killed three co-workers in a matter of minutes.  One of the victims was shot in the parking lot area while two others were shot and killed inside the facility.  The suspect fled the scene prior to the arrival of law enforcement but was later found dead in his truck from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The third attack occurred on Saturday, June 27th, at a Walmart Distribution Center in Red Bluff, California.  The suspect, a former employee who had been terminated in February, crashed his SUV into the facility, which then caught fire, and began his rampage utilizing an AR-type rifle.  During his assault, one person was killed, and four others were injured.  Responding officers arrived at the facility nearly ten minutes after the assault began and engaged the suspect in a gunfight and the suspect was mortally wounded during this exchange of gunfire.  Due to the fire inside the facility, law enforcement’s ability to clear the remainder of the building was severely delayed until fire personnel could respond and extinguish the blaze.

The fourth attack also occurred on Saturday, June 27th, at a peaceful protest being conducted at Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, Kentucky.  A lone gunman, seen here on video, took the firearm away from another protestor and began randomly firing at the crowd in the park.  One person was struck and killed before other bystanders returned fire and struck the shooter in the leg which stopped the attack.  The shooter was taken into custody a short time later with non-life-threatening injuries.

At this point, the motive of all four attackers remains unknown.  At the end of the day, does that really matter?  If we had known their motive prior to their attacks, would it have changed anything or stopped the attack from occurring?  The answer is NO.

Mass casualty and active shooter attacks have become an unfortunate but consistent manifestation of evil in American society.  While every organization should continue to focus on education of pre-attack indicators, it is incumbent on every organization, corporation, school, house of worship, and INDIVIDUAL, to get and remain prepared to respond to such an event.  The only way to respond decisively under critical stress is through prior training.  If your organization has not implemented such training and protocols, demand it.  Many risk managers and security personnel unfortunately still have the “Oh yeah, we need to do that” or, even worse, the “it won’t happen here” approach.  History has proven that these attacks can happen at any time and at ANY place.

Whether you are at work, the mall, a cookout, church, or simply out for a walk, being empowered with the knowledge and skills to survive any type of violent attack is an absolute life skill.  Make it your responsibility to obtain these skills.

For more information about how we can help your organization, visit us at www.defendsystems.com or call us at 615-236-6484.

Fears of Gun Violence Force Business Owners to Rethink Workplace Safety

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Defend Systems

‘Stop the bleed’ training, security cameras and locks take root in companies with formerly open doors.

PHOTO: PETE RYAN
BY RUTH SIMON AND CHIP CUTTER – SEPT. 22, 2019 6:24 PM ET

Many small-business owners are hardening their defenses as concerns about gun violence escalate.

Thirty-five percent of business owners say they have taken steps to protect against potential shootings or other workplace violence—or plan to do so soon, according to a monthly survey of nearly 800 small companies conducted for The Wall Street Journal by Vistage Worldwide Inc., an executive coaching organization.

Some companies are adding security cameras and replacing open-door policies with buzzers and locks, while others are signing up for advanced first-aid training or making tough choices about allowing weapons at work.

“One can say the chances of [a shooting] happening are slim, but we need to be prepared as much as we can,” said John Marten, president of Shepherd Color Co., a manufacturer of pigments for industrial uses with about 300 employees. “It’s always a balance to find the right place where you can function and live your life,” he added, “but be as safe as you can.”

The Cincinnati-based company has put electronic locks on doors that had been left wide-open during business hours and provided active-shooter training. The company also plans to install surveillance cameras on its 60-acre campus. Limiting access to manufacturing buildings, where material moves via forklift, can be particularly challenging, Mr. Marten said.

A half-dozen Shepherd employees will soon begin “Stop the Bleed” training as part of a national program to teach bystanders how to treat gunshot and other life-threatening wounds before first responders arrive.

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The concerns of small businesses vary widely, said Brink Fidler, president of security-training firm Defend Systems in Nashville, Tenn., which has conducted training programs at dental offices, manufacturers and assisted-living centers, among others. Some business owners worry about how to respond to a disgruntled former colleague, he said. Others fear a domestic dispute spilling into the workplace.

Ken Clark, chief executive of Chenal Family Therapy PLC of Little Rock, Ark., with about 110 employees, said therapists became more concerned about safety following the shooting last year of three mental health workers on the campus of a state-operated veterans facility in California. “When it’s a workplace similar to yours, all of the sudden you pay attention,” he said.

Figuring out the right steps is challenging for a small, fast-growing company that must weigh, for instance, whether to spend money on active-shooter training or something more business-focused like updating its website, Mr. Clark said. Chenal has installed cameras in patient waiting areas and near building doors in some offices, and hopes to soon roll them out in all 17 locations.

Chenal bars clients from bringing weapons to its offices, which have solid-core doors that swing out and are hard to kick in, but employees with appropriate training are free to carry a concealed weapon. Mr. Clark has wrestled with whether he should have a gun.

“I have made what I think is the educated choice: There is more risk in me owning a pistol than in me not having one in the office,” Mr. Clark said. “I am also the kid who gets his foot caught in bike spokes,” he added. “I would be the one shooting myself in the foot.”

Dr. Brian Eichenberg, the owner of a plastic-surgery center in Murrieta, Calif., obtained a concealed-weapons permit in 2015, after the San Bernardino shootings. He started locking the front door to his office the following year after he put up a billboard advertising breast augmentations that triggered a death threat.

“I have a .45-caliber handgun,” he said. “I hope I never use it anywhere.”

Even if small businesses can’t afford their own security staff, they can develop evacuation plans and safety protocols, said Eric Gandy, deputy chief of the Clearwater, Fla., police department, which has conducted about a dozen training presentations at small businesses in the past year.

At bigger companies, workers may be unaware of the presence of a shooter, particularly if they work on a separate floor, Chief Gandy said. Smaller companies, with workers located in proximity, may be able to more quickly identify a threat, but employees are likely to have less time to escape. Chief Gandy advises workers to think creatively, which could mean throwing a chair through a window to escape or using a fire extinguisher as an improvised weapon.

After a 2015 shooting at a nearby community college, Orenco Systems Inc., a manufacturer of wastewater collection and treatment systems in Sutherlin, Ore., signed up for a service that puts a panic button on workers’ smartphones to more quickly notify authorities, said Senior Vice President Jeff Ball. New employees receive active-shooter training when hired and a refresher every six months.

Potential gun violence isn’t the only safety challenge. KBM-Hogue, a contract office furniture dealer with about 120 employees, in May relocated its corporate headquarters to a less visible space after several incidents involving homeless people unsettled employees.

“We made the conscious decision to leave that space, to give up the visibility and move across the street … just to get everybody away from that feeling of being uncomfortable and unsafe,” said Stan Vuckovich, the company’s chief executive. “Safety shouldn’t factor into making a real-estate decision for your business. It factored in a big way for our business.”

Write to Ruth Simon at ruth.simon@wsj.com and Chip Cutter at chip.cutter@wsj.com

34 killed – 64 Injured – Three Active Shooter Attacks

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Defend Systems

In just one week, this country has suffered through three terrible active shooter attacks that took the lives of 34 people and injured countless others.  While each attack has its own unique circumstances, the intent of the attackers was pretty much the same, to kill as many people as possible in a short amount of time.  In two of these attacks, nearby police responded swiftly and engaged the gunman to stop the assault.  In the third however, the gunman had completed his carnage upon police arrival and he simply gave himself up to officers a block away from the scene as they were searching for him.

The attack on the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California, took the lives of three innocent victims ages 6, 13, and 25 and wounded 13 others.  The shooter, wearing body armor and multiple spare magazines, gained access to the festival grounds by cutting through a perimeter fence allowing him to bypass any security screening process.  Once inside the festival grounds, he opened fire on a large group of people near the food area without discrimination.  Police officers at the festival responded immediately and engaged the gunman who took his own life during the ensuing firefight.

The mass shooting at the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, took the lives of 22 innocent people and wounded 24 others.  The shooter began his rampage in the parking lot outside of Walmart where he began firing upon patrons as they were coming and going.  He then entered the Walmart and continued his heinous attack as he hunted down his additional victims.  El Paso police officers arrived on scene at 10:45 AM, six minutes after receiving the first 911 call, and began the process of searching for the gunman.  The suspect was located a block away from the Walmart at 11:06 AM where he turned himself in to officers and was taken into custody without incident.

The active shooter attack on the streets of Dayton, Ohio, resulted in the deaths of 9 people and caused injury to 27 others.  The attacker opened fire on a crowd of people on the streets and sidewalk outside of Ned Peppers, a popular establishment in the Oregon district.  Police officers that were in the area, heard the gunfire and immediately responded to neutralize the threat and did so only 30 seconds after the attack began.  The video showing the police response is an amazing tribute to the officers and their willingness to face evil head on and without hesitation.

If not for the close proximity of law enforcement as well as their deliberate response, the Dayton attack as well as the Garlic Festival attack would have been much worse.  Both situations demonstrate how swiftly an amazing amount of damage can be done in very little time by a crazed gunman hell bent on mass murder.  The Garlic Festival shooter fired 39 rounds before being stopped and also wore body armor along with multiple spare magazines.  This makes it clear that he intended to do much more damage as well as his intent to engage with law enforcement.   The Dayton attacker also wore body armor and possessed approximately 250 additional rounds of ammunition making it clear that he strived to do much more damage as well as anticipated being engaged by police.  As evidenced by the surveillance footage, his intent was to enter a crowded bar and commit a heinous amount of carnage and would have been successful if not for the incredible acts of the Dayton police officers.

The shooting in El Paso further illustrates the fact that it does not take very long to kill and injure an incredible amount of people prior to law enforcement arrival.  Thankfully in this case, the shooter stopped his killing spree on his own and surrendered to law enforcement but that did not occur until 27 minutes after police received the first 911 call.  Swift engagement by law enforcement is clearly critical to mitigating the damage during these events.

We all know that the Dayton and Garlic Festival responses are not the norm as most of these attacks last anywhere from 6 to 12 minutes.  An incredible amount of damage and killing can be completed in that time.  As a nation, we remain focused on improving our law enforcement response to these events as well as exploring additional means of prevention and thwarting of these planned attacks, and we should.  The incredibly overlooked space that needs improvement is in the middle, meaning empowering and training people what to do should they find themselves in one of these events.  We need to continue our focus on all facets of combating this problem with more emphasis on response and recovery for EVERYONE.

Should you find yourself in the middle of one of these horrific attacks, would you know what to do and how best to respond?  Would you have the skills and the tools to stop significant bleeding in a family member or a friend?  Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best; “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”  What’s your plan?

5 Ways to Make Our Schools More Secure

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Defend Systems, School Security

There is quite a bit of focus these days on the fact that corporations, churches, businesses and other organizations need to focus more time and resources on preparing for a critical incident such as an active shooter. I couldn’t agree more as I am very passionate about this fact. However, the single most critical organization that needs to focus A LOT of time and energy into critical incident and active shooter preparation is our schools. Whether it is a crazed gunman, an extremist terrorist, or the lunatic ex-spouse of a staff member, the threats to our schools are real and are not going away.

It was in April of this year when the ex-husband of Karen Brown, a special education teacher in San Bernardino, entered her classroom and gunned her down while she was teaching. He also struck two students in the process, killing one, before turning the gun on himself. In the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, the shooter wandered the school executing victims for 11 minutes before being encountered by the police and taking his own life. All of his victims were shot between 3 and 11 times EACH. These are two starkly different incidents with very different shooters behind the gun. Their motives and intended targets in both incidents were vastly different yet the result was still the same. Innocent lives were taken by crazed gunmen on school grounds and the existing security policies and measures failed.

Outside of the existing potential threats previously mentioned, our schools have to begin considering that they qualify as both a soft target and a high value target to terrorist organizations. Both terrorists and active shooters alike seek maximum carnage with minimum resistance and our schools would traditionally provide both to these deranged individuals. Although police response times to active shooter events have improved greatly, it could still be the most important three minutes of your life.

HERE ARE FIVE CRUCIAL THINGS EVERY SCHOOL SHOULD BE DOING TO IMPROVE THEIR SECURITY.

Consistently secure all buildings. This may seem simple and elementary but it can be a game changer. One door left unlocked and unattended could make a life a death difference. In the Columbine High School shooting, not a single locked door was breached by the shooters. In the San Bernardino incident, the gunman attempted to enter a side door where he would go unnoticed but it was locked and he was forced to enter the main entrance. Although their security policy still failed, the incident could have been much worse had he entered undetected. Even on the most beautiful of days, keep all classroom and building doors secured and locked. You are sending a message to anyone seeking to infiltrate your campus.

Conduct regular and visible patrols. This task should be shared by staff and faculty so that everyone participates in proactively creating a secure environment. Furthermore, the more personnel involved, the better. This also sends a message to any potential intruders that you have multiple people involved in securing your campus and that they will meet resistance. If ANY unknown or suspicious person is identified on campus or in a building, then you MUST confront them. Confront them IMMEDIATELY and ASSERTIVELY and preferably in pairs if the personnel is available. When any criminal is seeking a victim, they are looking for just that, a victim. Being assertive and not avoiding the situation communicates clearly that your campus is not a soft target.

Get a threat assessment and security evaluation done for your particular campus. Every school building and campus is different and will have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to achieving physical security. There are also several ways to advantageously exploit certain features of particular buildings and construction materials during a critical incident. Hiring a professional to evaluate your facility can make all the difference when it comes to critical incidents.

Have a plan. This also sounds elementary and obvious but I have been astounded at the number of school personnel I have spoken with that don’t have a real plan. Unfortunately today our schools face multiple threats from both nature and man and having specific plans for those events and your particular campus are extremely important.

Waiting for the School Resource Officer to handle the situation is NOT a plan. Although SROs are an outstanding resource for schools, they cannot be everywhere all of the time. Even if your campus is small and it only takes one minute for the SRO to get anywhere on campus, one minute is an eternity during an active shooter event. Every school, campus, and faculty composition is different so having a customized plan creates an outstanding advantage when seconds count.

Practice and train frequently. When in danger, the human brain goes directly into survival mode. We cannot reason, our only instinct is to survive. When we do this, we have one of three reactions, fight, flight or freeze. These are primitive instincts that have kept our species alive for thousands of years, but they are just that: primitive. Our survival instincts can be programmed to change the way we respond under critical stress levels. The ONLY way to do this is through training and repetition. During any critical incident most people will have some sort of reaction, but prior training allows you to RESPOND.

To learn more about obtaining a security evaluation, training for a critical incident, or strengthening the security of your school or campus, please visit our website at www.defendsystems.com or give us a call at 615-236-6484.

Why Active Shooter Training for School Personnel is More Important than Physical Security

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Defend Systems

While I would never advise a school or any other organization not to improve their physical security, it would undoubtedly not be first on my list of recommended safety and security enhancements. Although improving physical security is very important for a variety of reasons and is typically selected as the first option in response to calls for an increase in school security, Active Shooter Training for school personnel is my first recommendation. 

WHY WE START WITH ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING…

Unfortunately in our world today, these calls for action are the result of some type of school shooting tragedy.  They are not a result of some random property crime or simple assault that occurred on one of our campuses.  When is the last time there was an outcry for increased security due to a laptop being stolen from a school’s computer lab or because two teenagers got into a fistfight?  It just does not happen.  We are accustomed to accepting these types of crimes and incidents as part of life that occur regularly and therefore we are desensitized to them.  There is no feeling of shock, horror, or sadness because someone spray painted the front of the school.

Sadly, we as a nation all feel the shock, horror, and sadness every time there is a school shooting.  No matter how frequent these become, they still shock the senses of the majority of society and inevitably lead to calls for improving school security.  The demand for security improvements typically results in some physical improvement such as adding surveillance cameras, metal detectors, high-security glass, or even the addition of a school resource officer.

THE CASE FOR STARTING WITH ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING FOR PERSONNEL AND STAFF…

While these are all certainly steps in the right direction, any physical security improvement should be secondary to extensive active shooter training for faculty and staff.  The reason for this is quite simple.  Physical security measures will not prevent the majority of school shooting attacks.  It is an unfortunate fact that the vast majority of these attacks are launched by current or former students who possess the inside knowledge to exploit the security vulnerabilities and gain access to the school.

All school personnel should be armed with the knowledge of what to do during an attack no matter what part of the campus they are on and no matter who is or is not with them.  Having very specific active shooter response plans for every classroom, office, gymnasium, bathroom, locker room, and any other part of the facility is critical to saving lives because it allows trained personnel to respond instantly with a very specific plan and purpose.  Every campus layout and school floor plan is unique and therefore should have plans and protocols specifically designed for that facility.

All active shooters understand that once they fire that first shot, the clock has started.  They accept that there will be a very swift and powerful law enforcement response and they do not care.  They do care about committing maximum carnage during that small window of time and that is exactly what they do and when they do it.  Once law enforcement personnel arrive, they will be confronted very swiftly and their rampage will be stopped or they will flee prior to law enforcement arrival. All that being said, the focus needs to be on that window of time from when the first shot is fired until the event is over.  The event is not over until the shooter has been neutralized and all persons in need of medical aid are in the care of medical professionals.

THE EFFECTS OF ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PERSONNEL…

Training school personnel on best practices of avoiding gunfire, proper barricading, counter assault maneuvers, and hemorrhage control techniques is the most critical element to improving school security. (Although every victim of an active shooter attack cannot possibly be saved, the grim reality is that several victims of past attacks could have been saved had personnel known simple bleeding control techniques and had the tools to apply those techniques on site.)

Training faculty and staff to respond to these events immediately and with a very specific plan and purpose will undoubtedly mitigate casualties and increase the survivability rate should an attack occur.  While we will, unfortunately, never be able to completely prevent these attacks from occurring, we can absolutely tilt the survivability odds in our favor.  Active shooters could care less about your physical security measures because they typically have nothing to do with slowing them down once they are already inside.  What they are not prepared for is resistance.

In every active shooter event, there is undoubtedly a significant time gap from when the shooting begins to the arrival of law enforcement.  Our active shooter training fills that gap. For more information about our training for your school staff and faculty and how we can help your school create a safer environment, give us a call at 615-236-6484 or go to defendsystems.com.

Why Businesses and Organizations Should Train for Active Shooter Events

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Corporate Security, Defend Systems

“1 October” will forever be synonymous with the most horrific and deadly mass shooting in American history. Almost two weeks have passed since that incredibly evil attack suddenly changed every Americans’ sense of safety and security and many questions still go unanswered. The motive remains completely undetermined, the timeline is foggy at best, and the puzzle pieces of “how” are just beginning to fall in place. Liability and responsibility are being bounced around from MGM Resorts to the Las Vegas Police Department, to the gun lobby in America like a pinball.

As humans, it is in our nature to feel the need to hold something or someone accountable for such a tragic event. I believe we would all agree that the shooter made the choice to devalue human life to such a degree that he decided to execute 58 innocent people. As for the other potential liability, the courts will make that decision in due time.

When we hear the term “active shooter” most of us associate it with such events as the Las Vegas Massacre, Columbine High School, Pulse Nightclub, or Sandy Hook Elementary, and rightfully so as these tragic events ripped at the heart of every American. A study conducted by the FBI on 160 different active shooter incidents revealed that over 50% of active shooter incidents occur in a commerce setting and that 55% of the time there is some connection between the shooter and the targeted victims.

The same study also found that 23 of those 160 events occurred at locations that were closed to pedestrian traffic, meaning there was some type of access control or security in place. Of those 23 incidents that occurred in a “secure” building or facility, 22 were either current or former employees. What this means is that the vast majority of active shooter events that occur in the workplace are being carried out from within the organization.

Any business or corporation can and should do everything they can to physically secure their facility from an intruder but it is often the case that the “intruder” is one of their own. Whether they are disgruntled about their employment situation or involved in some crazy office love triangle, it is most common for these attacks to come from within.

While doing a speaking engagement at a recent safety and risk seminar, one participant asked us what to be looking for as it relates to this very issue of targeted violence from within. There is no easy answer here as everyone has a different trigger that sets them off and sometimes they hide it well. Other times, however, the volatility of a particular situation or employee is readily identifiable. In those instances, the “see something, say something” model is absolutely critical. If management is not made aware of a particular problem or situation then they cannot take action.

So what do you do to help mitigate the situations you don’t see coming? HAVE A PLAN AND TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES.  

In a previous article, I discussed the fact that most active shooters seek maximum carnage and minimum resistance.  By having a good solid plan and conducting training, you are sending a message throughout your organization to all employees that you are preparing and there WILL BE RESISTANCE. You are also identifying your corporation and facility as a hard target and we all know soft targets are preferred by active shooters. Whether you come up with your own plan or hire a professional to complete a security evaluation and conduct training, get it done. Your life may depend on it.

To learn more about obtaining a security evaluation, training for a critical incident, or strengthening the security of your business or organization, please visit our website or give us a call at 615-236-6484. We are passionate about helping people and organizations achieve real security.

Planning, Protocols & Persistence Saves Lives

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Corporate Security

Protocols, training and persistence saved the lives of countless children at Rancho Tehama Elementary School in Corning, California. Another lunatic gunman began selecting seemingly random targets to kill in an apparent psychotic rage.  He eventually set his sights on entering the elementary school at the Rancho Tehama Reserve but that attempt was thwarted by the simple yet effective decision to place the school on lockdown.

In the active shooter incident at Columbine High School, not a single locked door was penetrated by the shooters.  Further proof that something so simple can be so effective during an active shooter incident.  These gunmen typically come prepared to create the maximum amount of carnage with a large amount of ammunition and weaponry.  However, they typically do not come prepared, physically or mentally, to breach locked or fortified doors.  I often reiterate that these active shooters seek maximum carnage AND MINIMUM RESISTANCE.  The gunman in this case met immediate resistance at the school and immediately chose another path for his rampage.

Faculty members reported hearing gunfire approximately a quarter mile away from the school and immediately took action.  Their training and protocols instantly took over and allowed their brains to process the noise as gunfire instead of fireworks as is so often the case.

Many times our brains immediately try and process certain stimuli from our environment as something familiar and safe instead of processing it as something more sinister and unsafe.  What allows our brains to process these things correctly is training and planning in advance.  It is very difficult, if not almost impossible, for our brains to recall anything complicated during a critical incident.  Simply put, our stress response won’t allow it.  However, previous planning and training allows us to overcome several of our bodies’ stress responses during a traumatic event.  This is exactly how police officers and soldiers are able to operate successfully in the most critical and traumatic situations.  Many times they do not have time to think, they must simply respond to whatever they are faced with instantaneously with no time to process what they are seeing, hearing or feeling.

I cannot reiterate this enough: ALL schools, churches, and businesses need to have a plan to deal with critical incidents and potential intruders.  Having a plan is a phenomenal start, however you must also PRACTICE that plan.  The goal is to practice it enough that your brain and your body will both respond to an event instead of simply reacting.  A response is typically pre-planned where a reaction is simply a moment in time reflection of what your brain is processing at that moment.

In today’s world of lunatic psychopaths gunning down multiple random victims, it is time to shift our focus.  Instead of trying to predict the where and when of the next attack, we must focus on hardening potential targets as well as a implementing a planned response.  We would all love to have a solution to stop the next mass casualty incident but we all know that is not the reality.  These attacks will undoubtedly continue and we all have a responsibility to focus more on the safety and security of our schools, churches, homes and businesses.

To learn more about obtaining a security evaluation, training for a critical incident, or strengthening the security of your school, church, or business, please visit our website at www.defendsystems.com or give us a call at 615-236-6484.  We are passionate about helping all organizations achieve real security.

7 Deadly Reasons Why Every Organization Should Train for an Active Shooter Event

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Corporate Security

One historical fact about 2017 is that it was a grim reminder that active shooter and mass casualty incidents are on the rise in America.  The staggering number of casualties, the vast amount of locations, and the varied motivations of the attackers are all reasons that our mindset as a society should be changing.  It is still unthinkable to believe that enough evil exists inside some people to commit these heinous acts, but the seemingly endless news cycle of violence remains a stark reminder that there are truly evil people among us.

In the aftermath of every active shooter and mass casualty attack, most people immediately search for a motive and become hyper-focused on determining the “why”.  The truth is this, active shooters and terrorists all have varied motivations and triggers and attempting to determine what these are for each incident will not prevent the next tragedy.  Beyond the increasing number of attacks and the vast number of victims during the last year, what is even more alarming is the number of different locations where these incidents occurred.

HERE ARE SEVEN CRITICAL REMINDERS ABOUT WHY 2017 SHOULD MOTIVATE US TO ACTION:

  1. Eugene Simpson Stadium Park, Alexandria, VA – A lone gunman opened fire on lawmakers and aids who were participating in a baseball practice in preparation for an upcoming charity game.  Capitol police officers assigned to a security detail for Representative Steve Scalise returned fire and engaged the gunman.  Two Alexandria Police officers also arrived and continued to engage the suspect in a gunfight that lasted roughly ten minutes.  The suspect was shot by police and later died at the hospital.  A total of four victims were shot by the gunman, all of them survived.
  2. Aztec High School, Aztec, NM – A 21-year-old former student gained access to the school by disguising himself as a student during normal student arrival.  He wore a backpack which contained a 9mm handgun and made his way to the bathroom to prepare for his rampage.  After classes began he exited the bathroom and shot and killed two students.  The school went on immediate lockdown and his access to other students was thwarted.  The shooter then took his own life.
  3. Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, New York, NY – A former doctor and ex-employee of the hospital, armed with an assault rifle, opened fire on the 16th and 17th floor of the facility.  The gunman killed a doctor, wounded six other people, and attempted to set himself on fire before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.
  4. UPS Facility, San Francisco, CA – A disgruntled employee armed with two pistols began shooting his coworkers during a morning meeting at the facility.  The gunman killed four people and wounded two others before being confronted by police at which time he took his own life.
  5. First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, TX – A single lunatic gunman opened fire on churchgoers who were attending Sunday morning services.  The gunman was eventually confronted and shot twice by a neighbor to the church as he was fleeing.  The suspect fled in his vehicle and eventually crashed at which time he shot himself in the head.  The suspect killed 26 people, ranging in age from 18 months to 77 years, and wounded 20 others in his rampage.  A total of fifteen empty magazines were located inside the church, each of which had a 30 round capacity.
  6. Fiamma Awning Company, Orlando, FL – A former disgruntled employee entered the business through a back door armed with a handgun and a large hunting knife.  He began shooting several former co-workers with most of them being shot in the head and some, multiple times.  Police arrived within two minutes and prepared to enter the building at which time the suspect shot himself.  A total of five people were shot and killed during the attack.
  7. Route 91 Harvest Festival, Las Vegas, NV – A lone gunman hell-bent on executing as many innocent people as possible, opened fire from his 32nd-floor hotel room that overlooked the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Utilizing several rifles and magazines, he shot indiscriminately into the crowd of concertgoers killing 58 people and injuring 546.  The shooter fired over 1,100 rounds during the attack and ultimately committed suicide as police officers closed in on his location.

These seven incidents are fundamental examples of why EVERY organization should be training to deal with an active shooter or mass casualty incident.  These cowardly attacks have no bias or consistent methodology as to the location or targeted victims.  Every shooter has a different motive or perceived reason as to why they rationalize their actions and they typically PLAN TO DIE.  The truth is this, it can happen ANYWHERE, ANYTIME and to ANYONE.  What’s your plan?

To learn more about improving your physical security, training for a critical incident, or obtaining an evaluation for your school, church, business, or home, please visit our website at contact us or give us a call at 615-236-6484.  We are passionate about helping all organizations achieve real security.

Companies Roll Out Gunshot Detectors at the Office – The Wall Street Journal

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Corporate Security

Fearing attacks, firms install sensors to track, help neutralize active shooters; systems’ true purpose often masked for fear of sparking a panic.

A gunshot detector in the lobby of 55 Water Street in New York City. PHOTO: CHIP CUTTER/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By Chip Cutter
Feb. 19, 2019 6:30 a.m. ET

Corporate executives worried about workplace shootings are quietly installing gunfire-detection systems in U.S. offices and factories. Most don’t tell employees what the sensors are, for fear of alarming them.

The rapid uptick in adoption of gunshot sensors follows a wave of workplace shootings in the past year. The latest occurred Friday when a man opened fire at an Aurora, Ill., factory following his termination, killing five co-workers and injuring five police officers. Deadly incidents in recent months include shootings at the California headquarters of YouTube, in the lobby of Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati, at a Maryland newspaper and in a Florida hot-yoga studio.

Shootings are “so frequent now, people are starting to accept it,” said Brink Fidler, who spent close to two decades in law enforcement in Nashville, Tenn., and now runs his own active-shooter training company, Defend Systems. “The more often these happen…the more people you have going, ‘We have to do something.’ ”

At Rackspace, a cloud computing company in San Antonio, management deployed 150 gunshot-detection sensors around its cavernous office in a converted shopping mall. “You can’t install metal detectors at the doors and have guards patting people down,” said Mark Terry, Rackspace’s director of global enterprise security. “So what’s the next best thing?”

The sensors blend in to walls and the ceiling, and look similar to fire-safety equipment. “I’ve told people they’re air-quality sensors before and they don’t even second guess it,” Mr. Terry said.

Originally developed for the battlefield, many sensors use a combination of acoustic and infrared technology to “see” the flash of a gunshot while also hearing it. The systems can be wired to alert police and instantly send texts, calls and desktop notifications to employees, flashing messages to tell workers how to respond in an emergency.

Once the sensors detect a gunshot on a floor, the devices can track a gunman—integrating with camera systems—as he moves through a building, in theory allowing police to zero in faster and neutralize the threat. One reason many companies don’t explain to employees what the devices do is that they fear somebody will try to test them out by bringing a gun to work, security experts said.

Gunshot detectors now exist in employee cafeterias, meeting rooms and distribution centers, among other locations. Toyota Motor Corp. installed them at an auto plant in Kentucky. Pharmaceutical giant Allergan PLC and Corona beer maker Constellation Brands Inc. have put gunshot-detection systems at some offices and facilities.

An Allergan spokesperson said employee safety is a priority and the detection system is “one part of our multilayered security platform that helps us respond to situations quickly.” Constellation Brands declined to comment. At Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store in New York, the devices are perched over beauty and jewelry counters.

In 55 Water Street, one of the largest office buildings in Manhattan and home to S&P Global Inc. and Hugo Boss, about a dozen sensors are scattered through the lobby and beside an escalator, said Scott Bridgwood, vice president of operations for New Water Street Corp., which manages the building. The cost, so far, has been less than $100,000, and Mr. Bridgwood said he hopes to have the devices on every floor at some point. He sees tremendous benefits to having the technology widely deployed and linked to local authorities to hasten response times.

“In an active-shooter situation, who’s calling 911?” Mr. Bridgwood asks. “I expect them to get out.”

The Charleston, S.C., airport put gunshot sensors near ticketing and baggage-claim areas. “I’d rather be prepared and not use it than need it and not have it,” said Paul Campbell Jr., chief executive of the Charleston County Aviation Authority.

The sensors cost around $1,200 each, and big employers can spend anywhere from $10,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars on the systems. Many more major corporations have purchased the devices recently, The Wall Street Journal found.

Some security advisers question whether money spent on gunshot detectors could be better used on more robust active-shooter training, assessments to determine gaps in building security, or physical barriers, such as door locks and ballistic glass, to deter a shooter.

“I would tell companies to take a breath,” said Jesus M. Villahermosa Jr., who spent three decades in law enforcement in the Tacoma, Wash., area, including on the SWAT team, and now runs security consulting firm Crisis Reality Training Inc. Mr. Villahermosa said he sees the value in the detectors, but cautioned: “Don’t just believe that a system is going to solve your problem.”

While building codes mandate lifesaving equipment such as fire alarms, no such regulation exists for gunshot detectors. Indoor systems are still new enough that many law-enforcement experts remain unfamiliar with them, and research on their effectiveness is limited, says Ronal Serpas, a professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, and the city’s former police superintendent.

Shooter Detection Systems LLC is among the biggest sellers of the systems and has more than 18,000 devices deployed. Chief Executive Christian Connors says the company has never had a false positive, thanks to years of refining the product, which is based on technology developed in the 1990s by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also known as Darpa.

The sensors can distinguish between a gunshot and a car backfiring, firecracker exploding or balloon popping because they listen for the specific signature sound of a muzzle blast, he said.

Those who have purchased the technology say it could save lives in an emergency when seconds matter. Some privacy experts wonder just how much monitoring the sensors are doing since they essentially mike the workplace 24/7. Mr. Connors says his gunshot detectors have “zero ability to transmit any audio whatsoever out of the sensor. It’s impossible.”

Sales at Shooter Detection Systems are up 400% in the past year, with Fortune 500 companies now representing the firm’s biggest base of clients, Mr. Connors said. He declined to name the firm’s customers.

Public records show that the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta spent more than $200,000 in 2018 to put 95 sensors from Shooter Detection Systems across its campus, including the cost of installation, cabling and software.

More schools have been eyeing the technology, but some feel if they install them in one building, they must install them in all, security experts say, a stipulation that may prove cost-prohibitive. Mr. Connors said his company will soon introduce a package of sensors priced below $10,000 for schools.

At 55 Water Street, one of the largest office buildings in Manhattan, the gunfire-detection sensors are scattered through the lobby and beside an escalator.PHOTO: CHIP CUTTER/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Write to Chip Cutter at chip.cutter@wsj.com

5 Things Every Church Should Do To Improve Security

Leave a Comment / Active Shooter Response, Church Security, Corporate Security

Tennessee church shooting leaves one dead, several wounded, officials say. That was the headline on Sunday, September 24, 2017. According to police the masked gunman shot and killed one female in the parking lot and then entered the sanctuary where he began shooting people indiscriminately. One Church member, a 22 year old usher, was able to respond by physically confronting the gunman, during which, the gunman received a self-inflicted gunshot to his chest. That member then went to his car in the parking lot, retrieved his own weapon, and headed back into the church where he held the suspect at gunpoint until police arrived. Clearly things could and would have been much worse if not for the heroic and selfless action of that young man.

At this point we don’t know what motivated the gunman to carry out this heinous attack. However, does the “why” really matter? The answer is no. We could spend days and days trying to figure out why these happen and trying to predict when and where another one may occur, only to come up short. We all have to go beyond asking ourselves why and adjust to the reality that these types of mass casualty incidents are on the rise and we have to accept the fact that we must do something to prepare for them.

HERE ARE FIVE THINGS THAT EVERY CHURCH SHOULD DO TO IMPROVE THEIR SECURITY.

1) Form a security team. Hopefully your church already has some sort of security team but if not, now is the time more than ever. More than likely these crazed gunmen are not going to target the large mega church that has three uniformed police officers sitting outside. They likely select their targets based on their ability to carry out as much carnage as possible. Having an obvious and visible security presence is critical.

2) Get a threat assessment and security evaluation done for your particular facility. Every church building and property is different and will have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to achieving physical security. Hiring a professional to evaluate your facility can make all the difference when it comes to critical incidents.

3) Develop plans and protocols. Your team needs specific plans and protocols in place to be truly effective. Every man for himself is not a plan. What are the preventative measures and protocols going to be and who is responsible for them? What are the teams’ specific roles should an intruder enter the building? These are all things that need to be nailed down in advance.

4) Conduct training. Training and repetition is what makes soldiers and police officers so effective at their respective jobs. They face situations daily where they must take decisive action immediately upon encountering a threat when there is no time to stop and think. They do this by relying on their training so that when the time comes they don’t simply react, they respond.

5) Be vigilant and consistent. Do not take for granted that another member of your team has already checked the south parking lot, or has secured a particular door, etc. Do not get complacent about your plans and protocols. Consistency can save lives, complacency kills.

If you want to learn more about strengthening the security presence at your church or business, go to  our website or give us a call at 615-236-6484. We are passionate about helping organizations achieve real security in this dangerously developing world.

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