Live shooter excercise!

[Mudslinger]

I was a participant in a live shooter exercise here in town at a local high school yesterday and let me tell you, it will open your eyes as to what can happen during an event like this.

This event involved the school police, Lubbock Police and Sheriff's officers, Texas Rangers, DPS and State Police along with the SWAT team from Lubbock and local ambulance services and Lubbock Fire Dept.
I was involved in walking out into the cafeteria after hearing an explosion and shots fired to find people injured or dead, mostly dead. From there I tried to help the injured or try to determine if they were dead or not.

What opened my eyes in this was we were all told if we did not do what we were told by the first responders there was a good likelyhood we would get pelted with paint balls or being shot for not following instructions from first responders. This would be things such as "stop what you are doing and raise your hands".

After we were checked by first responders twice, they went on in search of the active shooter, another set of officers/first responders came down to the cafeteria floor and ask us to raise our hands, they searched us then we were instructed to keep our hands raised and walk down the hall to the front exit. From there we were interviewed by a detective.

One thing I thought about after this was all over was what I would do at the elementary school I teach at if an active shooter happened. I am on the second floor and there are several ways to get out of the building without going out the front and with having weapons in my truck along with a couple of other people I work with, we would exit the building and retrieve our weapons and try and confront or halt the active shooter if possible. This would only happen if the first responders were not on scene yet. With this training I went thru, I am not sure about doing this and being in the building holding a gun when the first responders arrive. Makes you think, "do I try and confront, slow down or halt the active shooter and possibly risk getting shot also by the active shooter or first responders thinking I am the shooter, or do I just wait and let the first responders handle the situation? Not sure now what I would do.

[Txsurveyor2014]

I don't think I could wait for first responders if someone was actively hurting children. I would take the risk. However, if they had arrived, I would let the pros handle the situation. I wouldn't want to cause more trouble than I was helping.

[xman59]

you can only do what your instincts tell you too...you will be a suspect when leo's arrive,, if your in position to see them coming put your gun down and move away from it, point it out to them and follow directions "quickly" and to the T, do not talk back, as quickly as possible tell them what you know, your a teacher, the gun on the floor is yours, you think the suspects are here or there, and how many you think... you will not be handled with kid gloves and will be removed from the location quickly if possible,,, be sure you have id on you, if you have keys to the class rooms tell them ( it will also ease their minds a bit about you as a suspect)...
if you confront an active shooter you either shoot till he can't or you will get shot, you can not hesitate or second guess yourself,,,
keep in mind there could be some more good guys with guns trying to help to, how can you tell them apart,,,,, ? again instincts combined with awareness,,, heavy or long coats inside, back packs, tote bags, a lack of fear from a suspect,, fear and nervousness from good guys,,,

[Mac]

Stay out once out. Protect the children you have outside with you. Way too many chances to screw up back inside. Getting shot by an officer, shooting an off duty officer/ other chl carrier thinking it's the shooter and probably worse case hitting a child with a stray bullet. Thats just my opinion.

[Hydestik]

I would not wait.. In this case you would be the first responder. If in fact you are able to cease the violence do so . Use a gun , a hammer, fire hose or whatever .

[boomerball]

If you are willing to risk getting shot to try and stop the threat, does it really matter who shoots you?

[BenBen]

If you have immediate ways to get those kids/targets to safety away from the shooter without the shooter knowing take that immediate action first. You do them no good seeking engagement unarmed. If you have the opportunity to get clear, move out. Put your oldest children in charge of movement while you barricade the door then get gone. Kids are resilient and will impress you with their leadership abilities. It is a terrible that these types of exercises have to exist.

[Charles]

I've never been in or trained for a situation like this. Wouldn't instincts play a major roll into what you would do?

It's a shame these types of drills are even necessary in our schools.

[zero-in]

I wonder how many CHL carriers would intervene? By that I mean it appears that home grown terrorists are on the rise...they can look like just you and me. With this becoming more common place, it's more than likely that it is becoming increasingly more difficult for LEOs to differentiate the bad guys. So if we take on the task of being the first responders and the elements of differentiation or lack of the ability to do so by the LEOs as stated above increase the likelihood of being shot, are we willing to take that risk? Some yes...some no. Another twist...maybe the bad guys are banking on lack of willingness to intervene as they recruit more and more here in this country and there will eventually be no way to determine an active shooter from a good samaritan with a weapon who is trying to provide assistance...just throwing that out there. I'm not an LEO and maybe one could chime in this discussion related to this concern. My .02.

[Doc Peter]

Would not leave the building to fetch a weapon. By the time you get back LEO may be there and you could get killed. If I am unarmed I would stay that way and try to protect as many children as possible.

If I am armed I may seriously consider hunting, but only after I thought my children charges were safe, more defensive than attacker.

[xman59]

I've never been in or trained for a situation like this. Wouldn't instincts play a major roll into what you would do?

It's a shame these types of drills are even necessary in our schools.

instincts will rule unless you have been properly trained,, in which case you normally go against instincts and do what your trained,,, much like military personal run to gun shots,, most civilians would run away

[UltraMax]

People don't understand how chaotic a situation like that is. Wounded/dead people lying everywhere, screaming, grabbing your legs for you to help them, kids lying dead, blood all over the place, possibly your dead fellow officers. Active shooters are every officer's worst nightmare come to life.

We are trained to go to the gunfire and eliminate the threat if shots are being fired. Go straight to the sound of the gunfire, no searching, no triage, no bandages, no directions to people you encounter other than get on the ground, no helping NO ONE until the threat is neutralized.

[Mudslinger]

People don't understand how chaotic a situation like that is. Wounded/dead people lying everywhere, screaming, grabbing your legs for you to help them, kids lying dead, blood all over the place, possibly your dead fellow officers. Active shooters are every officer's worst nightmare come to life.

We are trained to go to the gunfire and eliminate the threat if shots are being fired. Go straight to the sound of the gunfire, no searching, no triage, no bandages, no directions to people you encounter other than get on the ground, no helping NO ONE until the threat is neutralized.

These 2 paragraphs almost to the word are exactly what we were told by the LEO in charge yesterday.

[Quackerbox]

These 2 paragraphs almost to the word are exactly what we were told by the LEO in charge yesterday.

Mostly cause the active shooter curriculum is nearly the same nation wide. Get to the sound of shots asap. Which is all but backwards when it comes to building clearing

[okrattler]

Most schools practice real life scenarios by doing a "lock down" and keeping the kids in the classroom. I remember sitting on the classroom floor in highschool thinking "These people are on drugs if they think I'm going to sit here in a real life situation." They have fire exits in classrooms. They don't have to be used just because of a fire. They'll open any time if you really want them to. Getting under a desk or sitting against a wall behind a locked door while someone is shooting the place up is idiotic.

I wouldn't go get a weapon and go back in. If you get out safely,stay out. Have a plan to escape and then let law enforcement do their job. There's no sense in you getting mistaken for the wrong person.

I remember in one classroom I was in we had to line up single file to the side of these windows by the door. I didn't like where I was in line so I asked if I could switch places with the person next to me. After a few times of doing this lock down drill the kids I always switched places with asked me why I always wanted to be in that spot. I said "Because it's closest to the exit and they can't see me through that window but they can see you. After they they kill you hopefully they have to reload and I can jump through that fire exit." Everyone seemed offended but I still stood in that spot every time.