'Have a plan' for active shooters, 72nd SFS sergeant says

Published March 18, 2016
By John Parker
Staff Writer

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE Okla., -- Calm thinking, knowing what to do when choosing to "run, hide or fight," and a survivor's winning mindset are keys to living through an active shooter situation, a 72nd Security Forces Squadron instructor said recently.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Jones spoke at a March 9 preparedness briefing at the Tinker Club about self-defense tactics. "Run, hide, fight" are the three main responses that law enforcement advise for people who find themselves near an active shooter.

"I want you to have a plan," Sergeant Jones said. "The biggest thing you can do is have that 'run, hide, fight' mindset. Don't just shut down when you hear shots fired and freeze up and you can't think."

An FBI analysis of more than 160 active shooter attacks showed 70 percent of them ended in five minutes or less. Preparation and active-shooter defense training can make a big difference in surviving, the sergeant said.

Sergeant Jones advised being mindful of exits, which can include breakable windows, when inside buildings at work or away from home. If you choose to run, don't worry about phones, purses and any other items. When you reach a safe location, call 911 if you have directly witnessed anything about the incident.

The choice to hide will involve locking doors, shutting off lights and phones and barricading entryways with cabinets and other heavy objects. Personnel should prepare to fight if necessary by grabbing solid improvised weapons such as metal chairs and fire extinguishers. People can then silently hide from an attacker's view, but close enough to the entryway to strike aggressively if it's breached, he said.

"We want to really injure that individual so we can end that threat and we can go home to our families," he said.

Sergeant Jones also advised preparing yourself with a "survivor's winning mindset" -- a determination to remain as calm as possible, be confident in choices that have to be made and the conviction to win the day by surviving.

"If we have that survivor's winning mindset and we're paying attention to the surroundings and we're listening to our first responders, at the end of the day we know we're going home to our family, going home to our husband, I'm going home to my wife, just like everybody else does," Sergeant Jones said.

People should expect the first law enforcement responders to be focused initially and solely on stopping the shooter. Listen for their commands, raise hands in the air and don't interact with them, including screaming for help, which could attract the shooter's attention.

Follow-up responders will take care of the injured, Sergeant Jones said.
Attendee Michelle Belcher said her husband, Staff Sgt. Steven Belcher, with the 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group, was recently assigned to Tinker. She found the briefing valuable, she said.

"It was especially helpful because I've looked online for what you do in that situation, but there are so many sources and so many people who have conflicting information," Ms. Belcher said. "It helped to get it from one source, straight from someone whose job it would be to take care of that situation."