Active Shooter: Lessons for our Community from Nu-Wood, Bertrand and Beyond

Tim Corbett, Michael Grzegorek, Andrew Myer, Dan Sink

Map of US school shootings since 1992

http://www.stoptheshootings.org

In 2012, there were 10 school shootings that left a total of 41 people dead and 13 wounded But as terrible as 2012 was 2013 has been even more deadly. In the month of January alone, a mind-staggering eight school shootings took place.

School Shootings - 2013

   

January 10, Taft, California: A gunman entered a science classroom of Taft Union High School with a 12-gauge shotgun and opened fire. A 16 year-old male student was shot in the chest and critically wounded while a teacher was also slightly injured. The classroom teacher, Ryan Heber, convinced him to drop his weapon, and the gunman was later arrested. January 11, Detroit, Michigan: was shot A 16-year-old boy after an altercation during a pickup game of basketball in a field across from Osborn High School after a school basketball game. He was hospitalized in serious condition. January 15, St. Louis, Missouri: A gunman shot and wounded the financial aid director of the Stevens Institute of Business and Arts in his office after an altercation. The gunman then shot and wounded himself. January 15, Hazard, Kentucky: Two people were shot and killed, and a third person, a 12-year-old girl, was wounded and succumbed to her wounds the next day. The shooting took place in the parking lot of the Hazard Community and Technical College.

   

January 16, Chicago, Illinois: was shot to death game.

A 17-year-old boy in a parking lot of Chicago State University after a high school basketball game. The game between two powerhouse high schools was being held on the university campus to provide a “neutral setting” for the January 22, Houston, Texas: Two men got into an argument and shot himself. one of the men pulled out a gun and shot the other , a student, injuring him, at the Lone Star College, near Houston. A nearby maintenance man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, while the gunman accidentally January 29, Midland City, Alabama: A gunman boarded a school bus later. and shot and killed the bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66. The gunman abducted a 5-year-old child and held him hostage in an underground bunker. The child was still being held hostage three days January 31, Atlanta, Georgia: student was shot that followed. A 14-year-old male and wounded in the back of the neck at Price Middle School in Georgia. The gunman, a student, was believed to be arguing with the other student before taking out a handgun and firing it at him. In addition, a teacher received cuts and bruises in the chaos

Columbine

Current zone of safety

Virginia Tech April 2007

 Deadliest shooting in US history  33 dead

Northern Illinois University February 14, 2008

 6 killed  18 injured

 The three goals of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) are: 1. Save preventable deaths 2. Prevent additional casualties 3. Complete the mission

PREVENTABLE CAUSES OF COMBAT DEATH

 60% Hemorrhage from extremity wounds  33% Tension pneumothorax  6% Airway obstruction , e.g., maxillofacial trauma

Nu-Wood, Goshen      December 6, 2001 2:30 p.m.

Angry employee, had argued with co-worker earlier 2 dead, including suspect 6 wounded, treated at Goshen General Hospital and Parkview, Ft. Wayne

Communication

• Cell phones • Be flexible – things are not always as reported

Scene Management

–

Remember

- this is not our normal daily treatment protocol for taking care of Mrs. Smith • Self – deployment • Don’t commit too early for triage and treatment • Protection for providers

Unified command

• Agencies discuss expectations for response and action ahead of time • Low frequency/high risk events – practice – practice

Staging

• Safest place to start resource deployment from; good coordination has to begin immediately – don’t play catch up • Always assume shooter is active until notified by LE

Bertrand Products, South Bend  March 22, 2002  8:15 a.m.

 Suspect employed x 26 yrs as shipping clerk  30 employees in the building  4 Bertrand employees dead  6 employees + 2 police officers injured  Shooter fled building, high speed chase, ended in suicide

EMS PLAN I

3 ALS Ambulances 1 Engine Company 1 Box Chief

EMS PLAN II

3 additional ambulances (6 total) 1 additional engine company (2 total) 1 additional Box Chief (2 total)

EMS PLAN III

3 additional ambulances (9 total) 1 additional engine co. (3 total) 2 Box Chief (4 total) 1 Command Vehicle (CV-1) 1 Transpo and/or Municipal Bus 1 MCI Trailer Notify Hospital Control Notify Hospital Control

ACTIVE SHOOTER/HOSTILE INTRUDER EVENTS

Sheriff Michael D. Grzegorek St. Joseph County Police Department

ACTIVE SHOOTER/HOSTILE INTRUDER EVENT DEFINITION 

An active shooter event involves one or more persons engaged in killing or attempting to kill multiple people in an area occupied by multiple unrelated individuals.

THE SUSPECT(S):

 There is no set “ Profile ”  Every situation is different  Motives vary

Not a New Phenomenon

 May 18, 1927 in Bath Township, MI  School board member Andrew Kehoe upset over property tax increase  Killed his wife, burned his barn, and then drove to school to blow it up.

 Three explosions left 45 dead and 58 wounded  Still the deadliest attack on a school in U.S. history

Workplace vs. School

 Workplace homicides outnumber school homicides  # of people murdered in the workplace averages approx. 520 per year  That means that approx. 2 people are murdered per day in the workplace each week  School shootings are more deadly when they happen; but workplace violence is more common

CHARACTERISTICS OF ASE SITUATIONS  Event happens quickly  Can happen anywhere  Post offices  Businesses  Schools  Military bases  Churches  Hospitals

Areas of Responsibility

 School Corporation/Business Entities  Police  Fire  EMS  Medical/Hospital

Bridging the gap

 We all have different areas of responsibility, but must work together to save lives.

 Inter-agency cooperation is the only way to bridge the gap.

 This is not the time or place for egos, EGOS GET PEOPLE KILLED.

 We must ALL put aside our egos, our priority is saving lives, not saving face or taking credit.

School Resource Officers

 Their presence in school systems serves as a deterrent to all crime, especially Active Shooter Events.  Provide immediate response capability.

Tactical Medical Units

    The St. Joseph County Metro SWAT team is working to bridge this gap by implementing our own Tactical Medical Unit.

The Tactical Medical Unit puts Doctors on scene, directing our SWAT team member EMTs and Paramedics.

All members of the TMU are tactically trained so they can enter a hot zone if necessary. The TMU members provide faster treatment time and increase victim survivability.

WHEN THE POLICE ARRIVE:

 Uniformed and plain clothes – multiple agencies  Understand the POLICE point of view:  The situation will be chaotic, the initial information is often inaccurate and incomplete  They do not know who is a victim or suspect  They will treat everyone as a suspect until proven otherwise  Officers will be experiencing high stress, just like you

Primary Goal: Stop the Killing!!

 Priority of work  Find and confront the shooter  Will NOT stop to help the wounded  Will NOT escort people out  Treatment & evacuation of the wounded (ONLY after the shooter/hostile intruder has been stopped!)  Clear people from the building

“ Time is our worst adversary in dealing with active killers. We ’ re racing what I call ‘ the Stopwatch of Death.

’ Victims are often added to the toll every several seconds.

”

-Ron Borch, Southeast LE Training Academy

Response Time Concerns

In 5 Classrooms at Virginia Tech:  170 rounds fired in nine minutes  30 killed or 3.3 people killed per minute  Including the 25 wounded, 6.1 people were shot per minute  Approximately one person shot every 10 seconds

Hesitation Kills, Do Something!

History has shown that those that react the quickest in a life or death situation have the highest probability of survival

WHEN

It Happens…

Trust your safety instincts to do what is in your best interest at the time of the event:  Run  Hide  Fight

http://youtu.be/5VcSwejU2D0http