Most recently, a lone gunman armed with an assault rifle killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in an attack at a Miami nightclub popular with the gay community.
After the sad reality of another mass shooting sinks in, questions regarding motive and gun control soon emerge. But school administrators and business owners also must tackle another question: What can be done to prepare?
Across the country, including Kern County, many are turning to “active shooter training,” developed to help those who find themselves in an enclosed space with a gunman. A Google search Friday turned up articles related to recent active shooter training events in Florida, Nebraska, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas.
Bakersfield police Sgt. Gary Carruesco said the department began giving classes on active shooter scenarios following the San Bernardino killings, and plans to soon meet with the LGBT community.
“We follow the run, hide, fight model,” as taught by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Carruesco said.
First, get as far away from the shooter as possible. If escape routes are blocked, hide as best you can in a locked room, behind a desk or any other item that can provide protection from bullets.
As a last resort, fight. Use fire extinguishers, chairs, anything that will inflict injuries if used as a weapon.
The indiscriminate nature of such attacks, and the quick turns they can take, is acknowledged on the Department of Homeland Security’s website.
“In many cases, there is no pattern or method to the selection of victims by an active shooter, and these situations are, by their very nature, unpredictable and evolve quickly,” the department said.
It advises those able to call 911 during an active shooter scenario to provide the dispatcher with the location and description of the shooter, whether there is more than one gunman, the number and type of weapons and number of potential victims, according to a department fact sheet. Once outside, approach responding officers with hands raised and empty and avoid quick movements.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office does not provide active shooter training to private businesses, but its Crime Prevention Unit performs some site assessments and encourages school administrators and employees to look at online videos dealing with those scenarios, sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt said.
Active shooter training is provided to deputies, but the tactics involved are not shared with the public, Pruitt said.
Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Nick Ortiz said the chamber has been discussing active shooter training with its Human Resources members since last year, but those discussions have taken on topical interest in the wake of the Orlando massacre.
“I think any business downtown, based on foot traffic and the center of population here, has to think about this more than those in an office park in another, less populated part of town,” Ortiz said.
He plans to put together a video where someone in HR and versed in the law, someone from the BPD and a third person who teaches self-defense awareness discuss what to do in an active shooter situation. The video would be live-streamed and then made available afterward to reach the broadest audience.
Changes in strategy would be necessary depending on the size and layout of individual businesses.
“It has to be site- and circumstance-specific,” Ortiz said. “You’re going to have to customize it for each business.”
He expects smaller companies would be more interested than large corporations, many of which already have on-site security and emergency plans in place.
The chamber has its own plan in place that includes a code word to use and one-touch alarms in various areas of the building. Employees know the exits, where to gather afterward and where to go if forced to shelter in place, Ortiz said.
Cal State Bakersfield initiated its own active shooter plan six years ago due to several incidents of workplace and school violence across the country. The training is offered to students, faculty and staff.
There are 40 people per class, CSUB Police Chief Marty Williamson said. He recalled teaching 26 classes one year.
“We use a lot of the tragic events over the years as lessons learned,” said Williamson.
For instance, students in a June shooting at UCLA that left two dead used belts and cords to tie shut classroom doors that couldn’t be locked. Chairs and tables can be stacked against doors, Williamson said, and commonplace items such as staplers can be used as weapons.
“You can’t just sit there and become a victim,” he said.
While mass shootings seem to be occurring with frightening regularity and have been highly publicized, Williamson cautioned the chances of being involved in such a situation are about the same as being struck by lightning. It’s important to know how to respond even if the likelihood of such an event occurring is minimal.
“We don’t want you to be paranoid, just to be aware,” Williamson said.
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