Active Shooter

This instructive video demonstrates possible actions to take if confronted with an active shooter scenario. The video reviews the choices of evacuating, hiding, or, as an option of last resort, challenging the shooter. The video also shows how to assist authorities once law enforcement enters the scene.

• View the Active Shooter Training Video

Terrorist attacks have a profound emotional and physical effect on a community. While preventing these attacks would be preferred, agencies must work swiftly and cohesively to improve patient outcome when an attack does occur. Read full discussion paper.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced the release of a new Blast Injury mobile application to assist in the response and clinical management of injuries resulting from terrorist bombings and other mass casualty explosive events. The application provides clear, concise, up-to-date medical and healthcare systems information to assist healthcare providers and public health professionals in the preparation, response, and management of injuries resulting from terrorist bombing events.

CDC Blast Injury App for iPhone and iPad

CHA commends the hospitals that received and treated patients from the active shooter tragedy that occurred in San Bernardino County this week, and is proud of the hospitals and health systems that have planned and trained with law enforcement agencies, local emergency medical services and fire agencies in preparing for and responding to such incidents. Additionally, CHA encourages all hospitals to utilize the multitude of resources that are available on the CHA emergency preparedness website. In addition to the existing CHA planning and training for active shooter resources and links, UCSF Medical Center has recently shared its training video and template table top exercise to assist other hospitals.

San Bernardino police praised – Los Angeles Times article on lessons learned

The City of Houston, Texas, has produced a six-minute, graphic video on what to do when encountering an active shooter. The video is entitled “Run-Hide-Fight: Surviving an Active Shooter Event” and was produced with a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

• Watch the video: ”Run-Hide-Fight: Surviving an Active Shooter Event”

All employees can help prevent and prepare for potential active shooter situations. This course provides guidance to individuals, including managers and employees, so that they can prepare to respond to an active shooter situation.

This course was written for non-law enforcement personnel. The material may provide law enforcement officers information on recommended actions for non-law enforcement employees to take should they be confronted with an active shooter situation. Upon completing this course, the participant will be able to:

• Describe actions to take when confronted with an active shooter and responding law enforcement officials.
• Recognize potential workplace violence indicators.
• Describe actions to take to prevent and prepare for potential active shooter incidents.
• Describe how to manage the consequences of an active shooter incident.

Prerequisites: None.
Course Length:  Approximately 45 minutes

• Complete this Course

July 2012 – For emergency managers, events such as these are mass casualty events.  There will be a regional response from all first responders, police and emergency medical technicians.  Hospitals will need to gear up to receive victims, the dispatching of patients to multiple hospitals will need to be orchestrated by a Hospital Control entity.  In this case the event happened late at night.  Command staff are not present and it is important that those on duty have the training and knowledge to respond to a larger event and initiate proper command and control procedures.

• Full Article