Transcript Presentation - Auburn University at Montgomery

What We Have Learned From School Shootings:
Behavioral Indicators Of Violent Offenders &
How To React To These Incidents
Thomas A. Petee
Auburn University Montgomery
Center for Government & Public Affairs
Incidents
are not random
Most offenders contemplate, plan,
and prepare for their attacks
Most offenders discuss their plans
with others before the attack
False: A violent outburst can be better
characterized as the result of a
“slow burn”… an accumulation of
unresolved personal problems that
can or have gone on for years.
Ideation
Planning
Acquisition
Implementation
Adapted from Deisinger
 Expressing
a desire or
intent to harm others
 Open disobedience of
policies & procedures
 Sending violent notes
 Making
suicidal
threats/gestures
 Acting out anger such
as shouting, throwing
or pushing objects,
slamming doors,
punching walls
EXTERNAL
 Spillover
Crime
 Terrorism
 Students
 Disgruntled
 Predator
 Deranged
INTERNAL
Faculty/Staff
Stranger
 Parent
 Affiliated
Others
Lack of flexibility
 Chronic anger issues
 History of depression
 Awareness of and
identification with other
violent offenders
 Feared by students
 Prior history of bullying/
or being bullied
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Poor self-image
Blaming others
Weapons orientation
Responds poorly to
criticism
Unreasonable expectations
Recent events of public
violence in the media
(copycat)
 Threats
by a disgruntled employee are
very similar to other volatile social
situations
 Disgruntled employees often have similar
problems outside of the work
environment
 Loss of dignity by the disgruntled
employee may result in violence
 Tend
to be mission-focused
 May be targeted at individuals or more
generically at places
 Almost always involve firearms, maybe
multiple firearms
 Offender usually has no plans to escape
Adapted from Douglas, Burgess, Burgess & Ressler;
Petee, Padgett & York
A product of:
 An
offender motivated to take violent action
 The vulnerability of the target toward such action
 An environment that enables violence (usually
passively)
 Other events that might trigger violent reactions
Adapted from Deisinger; Felson & Cohen
Shots fired in your school…… the last thing you
would expect to hear. The odds of being involved
in a situation like this are similar to your chances
of being struck by lightning. The possibility of
being involved in an active shooter incident on
the school campus may be remote, but the
consequences can be catastrophic. That’s why it
makes good sense to spend time now thinking
and preparing for it.
Sandy Hook
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Desire is to kill and seriously injure without
concern for his safety or threat of capture
Normally has intended victims and will seek
them out
Accepts targets of opportunity while
searching for or after finding intended victims
Will continue to move throughout
building/area until stopped by law
enforcement, suicide, or other intervention
Developing a survival mindset
• Take direct responsibility for your
personal safety and security.
• A survival mindset is a “protective shield”
comprised of three components:
• Awareness
• Preparation
• Rehearsal
Awareness
• Have you ever heard a gun shot? People
typically do not recognize a noise as a gun
shot thinking it’s like what they have seen in
the movies or on television.
• Be aware of your surroundings… know your
environment, and what is out of place in
your environment.
Preparation
• Asking the “what if” questions. Look at
the campus through a “survival lens.”
• Survivors prepare themselves both
mentally and emotionally to do
whatever it takes to make it through a
situation.
Rehearsal
• The “what if” plan means rehearsing
your plan to reduce your response time
and build your confidence.
• It is important to understand that any
action taken or not taken during an
active shooter situation may involve lifethreatening risk.
• If you decide to flee, make sure
you can do it safely and have an
escape route and plan in mind.
• Get out fast.
• Leave your belongings behind.
• The best way to survive an active shooter
situation is to not be where the shooter is and not
go where he can see you.
• Call 911. Do not assume someone else
has called the police you may be the first
report.
• Be persistent in calling because the
phone lines may be jammed.
• If you cannot “Get Out, ” you should “Hide Out”
• Get everyone to lie down away from windows of
“Fields of Fire.”
• Silence cell phones, close blinds, turn off lights,
stay on floor, and do not peek out doors or
windows.
• If in a hallway, look for an unlocked room or
closet to hide in.
•
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Lock classroom doors if possible.
If doors cannot be locked,
barricade with desks or tables.
Turn out lights.
Do not pull fire alarms or evacuate rooms or
buildings…unless directed by emergency responders.
If you cannot find a secure area, make use of whatever
barrier you can place between yourself and the
shooter.
• Avoid huddling together for mutual
protection and moral support.
• Spread out to make for a harder target
for the shooter.
• If safe to do so, talk about what to do if
the shooter enters the room.
• Help others escape as you go.
• Help prevent others from entering the
danger area.
• If someone near you has a life-threatening
injury, and it is possible to provide firstaid to keep them alive, then do so.
• If in a secured area, consider the risk
exposure created by opening that
secured area.
• Attempts to rescue people should only
be made if it can be done without further
endangering the people inside the
secured area.
• Keep in mind that as events unfold, you
must continue to pay attention to what is
happening so you can figure out what
to do next and adjust your actions
accordingly.
• If there is absolutely no other opportunity
for escape or survival.
• You must be committed to this action.
• The shooter’s very presence is a threat to
your life.
• Be prepared to do whatever it takes to
neutralize the threat.
• This is not a time to throw up your hands and
resist passively. See your decision through.
• To do so you will have to become more
aggressive than you ever thought possible.
• Throw things
• Used improvised weapons
• Fight to live
“GET OUT” of the area if you can do so safely
“CALL OUT” to police authorities
“HIDE OUT” to avoid being seen by the shooter
“KEEP OUT” the perpetrator
“SPREAD OUT” to avoid becoming an easy target
“HELP OUT” by aiding others who need assistance
“FIGURE OUT” what needs to happen next
“TAKE OUT” the shooter as a last resort