Active Shooter Training

Yesterday the DHS Office of Infrastructure Protection updated their Critical Infrastructure Learning Series web page by adding information about an upcoming Active Shooter Awareness Virtual Roundtable. This web-based program will happen on September 27^th, 2011 at 2:00 to 3:30 pm EDT.

An active shooter is a person that comes into a facility and starts shooting at people. Historically in the United States this is not a terrorist (someone out to further a political agenda using violence), but is usually someone with a personal connection to the facility that is taking violent action to ‘address’ a personal problem with the people or organizations located at the facility.

These situations are typically very chaotic and there may be no apparent reason for the shooter’s target selection. “To help you prepare for the possibility of an active shooter incident, the Active Shooter Awareness Virtual Roundtable will raise awareness of common triggers and characteristics of active shooters and help you understand how to prepare for potential incidents.”

According to the web page this “free, online interactive roundtable will include video, commentary by behavioral and security experts, and a question-and-answer session”. It will “better prepare you to deal with an active shooter situation and to recognize dangerous behavior before it turns deadly”.

You can register for, and log into, the Roundtable via the Visual Webcaster page. Additional information can be obtained by email; activeshooterawareness@dhs.gov.

NOTE: This is not designed to address the peculiar situations of an active shooter in a chemical production area. This is a general industry course and would cover situations in the office areas of a chemical facility.  The Chemical Sector-Specific Agency has produced an booklet; Chemical Facility Security: Best Practices Guide for an Active Shooter Incident; that addresses some of these chemical facility issues. It can be obtained from the Chemical SSA; ChemicalSector@dhs.gov.