Response To Campus Shooter
Otterbein University
Presented by the Otterbein Police Department
Updated: April 23, 2013
Copyright 2010
Otterbein University
Objective: Provide Survival Options
• See shooter …
• Hear gunshots…
• Encounter a shooter
up close and person
Need
• SHOOTINGS ARE
OCCURING
• Improve:
 Developing Survival
options
 Recognizing and helping
high risk students, faculty
and staff
All School Shootings In USA Since 1992 - 2012
Public and Private University and College Shootings
1960 Through October 2010
Which Kills More Persons On Campus?
Origin of the Program
• Research
• Regent’s Task Force
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Planning
Prevention
Education
Communication
• Lack of personal
survival information
Otterbein Presentations
Beginning in 2007
• Campus Community
• Law Enforcement Support
1. Westerville Police
• Central Ohio School
Districts
2. Columbus Police
• Public and Private Sector
4. Ohio College Law
Enforcement
Professionals
• State of Ohio
3. Ohio State Highway
Patrol
2013 Campus Shooting Deaths
•
“Massachusetts State Police Col.
Timothy Alben said it baffled him
to learn the suspects gunned down
Collier with no provocation
whatsoever.
•
“There’s no more logic to this than
there is in placing a bomb behind
an 8-year-old boy and women and
blowing them to death,” Alben
said. “It evades any kind of human
decency whatsoever, and the same
thing holds true with Officer Collier
at MIT.”
• “Deadly MIT shooting was
heartless ambush”
• Police Officer Sean Collier
killed by the Boston
Marathon Bombing
Suspects
January 16, 2013
Stevens Institute of Business & Arts
St. Louis
• Sean Johnson, (34)
• Argues w/ Financial Aid
Director
• Continued Financial Aid
• Next day, met again
• Shot the director in the
chest in his office
• Shot self in stairwell
• Both survived
• Prior Assault
January 15, 2013
Hazard Community and Technical College in
Hazard, Kentucky
• Dalton Stidham, 21
• Previous domestic
dispute with ex-girlfriend
• Met in parking lot to
exchange custody of 2
year old son
• Shot and killed her and
• Killed uncle / cousin
November 30, 2012
Wyoming Casper College
• A man enters classroom
• Shoots father (professor)
with a bow and arrow
• Stabbed and killed him
• Killed girlfriend of father
• Killed himself
• Witnessed by students
• The Plan?
June 10, 2012
Auburn University
• Party off campus
• Desmonte Leonard (22)
• Argument over a woman
• He shot 6
• Killed 3
April 2, 2012
Oikos University, Oakland California
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Goh Su-Nam, age 43
Former student
Expelled from school
Revenge motive
Uses 45-caliber gun
Lined victims up
against the wall
• Killed 7
Oikos University Shooting Investigation
• Looking for a particular
administrator who
expelled him
• Looking for classmates
who made fun of his
English
• Arrested
March 8, 2012
University of Pittsburgh
• John Shick
• Expelled graduate
student
• Western Psychiatric
Hospital lobby
• 2 semi-auto pistols
• Shot receptionist in chest
• Shot and killed therapist
• Shot 4 others
• Killed by police
February 12, 2010
University of Alabama
• Professor Amy Bishop
• Biology Dept. meeting
• 12-13 people present
• Killed 3
• Wounded 3
• Borrowed 9 mm
• Tenure issue
Witness Accounts
• Taught her anatomy and neurosciences class
• She sat quietly at the meeting for 30 to 40 minutes
• “She got up suddenly, took out a gun and started shooting at
each one of us. She started with the one closest to her, went
down the row shooting her targets in the head.” (Joseph Ng,
faculty member)
• “This wasn’t random shooting around the room; this was
execution style.” Those that were shot were on one side of the
oval table used during the meeting, and five individuals on the
other side, including Ng, dropped to the floor.
Not a New Phenomenon
• Deadliest attack in U.S. history
• May 18, 1927 in Bath Township, MI
• School board member Andrew Kehoe
upset over property tax increase
• Killed wife and burned his barn before
driving to school
• Three explosions
• 45 dead
• 58 wounded
Northern Illinois University
February 14, 2008
Northern Illinois University
• Suspect Steven Kazmierczak (former student)
• Cole Lecture Hall (150 to 200 students)
• Shotgun and three handguns
• Fired 54 (six from the shotgun) in a little under two
minutes
• 5 killed, 18 wounded
NIU Student Witness Desiree Smith
• “Smith said the
gunman was
wearing a black
beanie or ski cap.
She said he aimed
initially for one
person: the
classroom
instructor.”
NIU Student Witness Jerry Santoni
• “I saw him shoot one
round at the teacher.
After that, I
proceeded to get down
as fast as I could.”
• Teacher wounded
Witnesses to NIU Shootings
Meghan Murphy
John Giovanni
• “He stood there for a • “He didn’t say a
word. It didn’t look
second and then just
like he was aiming
started shooting. His
directly at someone. I
face was blank, like
think he was trying to
he wasn’t a person.
hit as many people as
He was a statue,
he could.”
aiming.”
NIU Student Witness Lauren Carr
“I could get up and
run, or I could die
here. A student in the
front row was
bleeding, but he just
kept running. I
heard this girl
scream, ‘Run, he’s
reloading the gun!’”
NIU Witness Student Alan Edrinn
• “It was very chaotic.
People were definitely in
a panic. I saw bodies on
the sidewalk. It looked
like two people were
attending to them.”
NIU Student Ashley Dallman
• Was in an acting class in another building when
Cole Hall students came running in and
informed them of the shooting
• “We all started crying. We didn’t know what to
do.”
NIU Shooter Steven Kazmierczak
•
27 year old former NIU sociology
graduate student
•
Transferred to University of
Illinois
•
Well thought of by faculty with
no documented history of trouble
•
Psychiatric treatment after HS
•
Off medication and acting
erratically for several weeks
•
Self-inflicted gunshot
Virginia Tech - April 16, 2007
• Cho murders 32 with two
handguns
• 7:15 a.m. West Ambler Johnston
Hall – Hilscher and Clark killed
• Returns to his apartment and
reloads
• Leaves to mail pictures and
video manifesto to NBC
• 9:45 a.m. Norris Hall murders
• Executions in five classrooms
• Kills 30, then himself
Review Panel Recommendations
VA Governor Timothy M. Kaine
• Critical information
sharing obstacles
• Find help for people with
mental illness
• Problem of keeping
firearms out of the wrong • Where we know what to
do, we have to be better
hands
at doing it
• Improved awareness and
communication are key to
prevention
USA , A Great Nation, A Violent Nation
Shooters Killing In:
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Churches
Nursing Homes
Day Care Centers
Movie Theatres
Health Clubs
Restaurants
Parking Lots
Military Installations
High Schools/Middle Schools
2007 WPD stopped a plan to ATTACK
Summary of Incidents
“The reality of the situation is – it’s a sad reality,
but it’s reality – there are no sanctuaries anymore.
We’ve seen this happen in schools, in malls,
playgrounds, parks, churches. No place is safe
anymore.”
Karl Kick, Washington Post
Otterbein must be prepared
Time Out!
“You’re trying to scare us, it will never happen at Otterbein”
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Not attempting to scare
Not live in fear / paranoid
Recognize the reality
Be prepared
• Simply another crisis to
plan for and handle
• Same as fires, tornados,
other potential incidents
Who are these shooters?
• Profile?
• Indicators?
• Red Flags?
• Warning Signs?
Potential Violent Behavior Indicators
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VIRGINIA TECH PANEL STUDY / SCHOOL SHOOTERS
Violent fantasy content
• Strangeness and aberrant
behavior
Anger problems
• Paranoia
Fascination with weapons
• Violence and cruelty
Boasting and practicing
combat proficiency
• Inappropriate affect
Loner
• Acting out
Suicide ideation
• Police contact
Homicidal ideation
• Mental health history related to
dangerousness
Stalking
• Expressionless face
Non-compliance and
disciplinary problems
• Unusual interest in
police/military/terrorism
Imitation of other murders
activities and materials
Interest in previous shooting
• Use of alcohol/drugs
situations
Victim/martyr self-concept
Red Flags for Employee Behavior
Source: The National Center for Victims of Violent Crime:
John E. Douglas, Retired FBI
• Obsession with weapons
• Compulsive reading of gun
magazines
• Excessively discusses weapons
• Direct or veiled threats
• Intimidating / instilling fear
• Obsession with one’s job
• Little involvement with
workers
• Displaying unwanted romantic
interest in a co-worker
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Exhibiting paranoid behavior
Unable to accept criticism
Holding a grudge
Recent family, financial, academic,
social, legal, or other personal
problems
• Interest in recently publicized
violent acts
• Testing the limits of acceptable
behavior… extreme changes
Recognizing Potential Workplace Violence
Dept. of Homeland Security (October 2008)
• Increase use alcohol/drugs
• Unexplained increase in
absenteeism
• Decrease in attention to
appearance
• Depression/withdrawal
• Resistance and overreaction to
changes in policy/procedures
• Repeated violations of policy
• Increase severe mood swings
• Noticeably unstable emotional
responses
• Explosive outbursts of anger
• Suicidal
• Paranoia
• Increasingly talks of problems
at home
• Escalation of domestic
problems in workplace
• Talks of previous incidents of
violence
• Empathy with individuals
committing violence
• Increase unsolicited comments
about firearms
Otterbein Threat Assessment Team
See Something, Say Something!
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Vice President for Student Affairs
University Psychologists
Associate Academic Dean
Director of Student Conduct and Wellness
Director of Residence Life
Chief of Police
Coordinator of Disability Services
Active School Shooter Myths
(From Secret Service Study)
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10.
“He didn’t fit the profile.”
“He just snapped.”
“No one knew.”
“He hadn’t threatened anyone.”
“He was a loner.”
“He was crazy.”
“If only we’d had a SWAT team or metal detectors.”
“He’d never touched a gun.”
“We did all we could to help him.”
“School violence is rampant.”
Police or Security Department?
Response Time Concern!
• Cho at VT went into 5
classrooms and fired 170
rounds in 9 minutes
• Killed 30 or 3.3 per minute
• Including the 25 wounded, 6.1
people were shot per minute
• Approximately one person
shot every 10 seconds
• Inside classrooms 1-2 seconds
Who is responsible for our safety
until law enforcement arrives?
We are responsible for our safety
We are all responsible for our safety
including handling a shooter on campus
Food For Thought
• School teachers, administrators, and students have no
idea what to do should they experience direct attacks
from a killer or terrorist. They have no training or
plan beyond lockdown.
• “Where would it ever be appropriate for a lack of
information to exist in life or death situations? No where
it seems except it for schools, where the most precious of
the country’s assets reside on a daily basis.” Response Options
Considerations
• Faculty: Discuss safety issues with your students
• Students: Ask faculty for the game plan for safety
related incidents
• Staff: Ask supervisors the same
• Shooters, tornados, fires, arguments, etc.
WHEN IT HAPPENS…
Trust your safety instincts:
 Run
 Hide
Attack
WHEN IT HAPPENS:
RUN-HIDE-ATTACK
Trust your safety instincts:
Run
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Don’t wait for validation
Don’t take anything
Zigzag, if necessary
Communicate while running
Run until you are safe
You can’t see the school
What about the Traditional Lockdown?
Frequent Question By School Administrators
• Good Strategy, but not a stand
alone defense
• Strategy:
– secure in room
– turn off lights
– cover windows
– retreat to a corner of the
room, and
– wait for the police to rescue
• The entire strategy depends on
the shooter’s inability to get
through the door
• It hopes that police will rescue
everyone before the shooter gets
to them
• Does not include a survival plan if
suspect enters the room and
starts killing
Traditional Lockdown Concerns
• Trains everyone to “Freeze”
• Limits our natural instinct
– the worst response to
to get away from danger by
directed violence
running
• Assumes the entire
building or complex is in
the same amount of
danger
• Ask any police officer what
advice they would give their
own kids if they were being
attacked with deadly force
Bottom Line On Lockdowns
• A good option
• Use when appropriate
• But doesn’t work
when the shooter
enters the room and
kills
WHEN IT HAPPENS:
RUN-HIDE-ATTACK
Trust your safety instincts:
 Hide Plan
• Hide / Shelter in place
• Call 911
• Lock and barricade
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Evaluate escape routes
Evaluate window escape
Gather weapons
Get behind cover but be ready to attack
Cell on silent mode
Work your plan
WHY BARRICADE THE DOOR?
BUY TIME
Derek O’Dell
Va.Tech. Survivor
The Shooter’s mindset…
Kill as many people as possible
WHEN IT HAPPENS:
RUN-HIDE-ATTACK
Window Escape Option:
 Open or break window
 Evaluate the risk
 Will fall kill or injure you?
 Surface: concrete / grass
mulch / shrubs
 Hang from the ledge to
limit fall
 Use items to limit the fall;
i.e. belts or clothing
WHEN IT HAPPENS:
RUN-HIDE-ATTACK
Attack Plan
 Last Resort:
 Shooter is in your room and there is no escape
 No better options
ATTACK SHOOTER AS A LAST RESORT
WHEN IT HAPPENS:
RUN-HIDE-ATTACK
Group Attack Plan:
 YELL GUN
 THROW ITEMS AT HEAD
 CHARGE / SWARM
 GRAB WEAPON
 TAKE DOWN
 HOLD FOR POLICE
• Alone Option
 THROW AND GO
MUST BECOME THE PREDATOR
Survival Mindset
WHEN IT HAPPENS:
RUN-HIDE-ATTACK
Pile On:
 LAY ON EXTREMITIES
 LAY ON CORE
 CONTROL HEAD &
NECK
 TOSS THE WEAPON
Otterbein Financial Aid Training
WHEN IT HAPPENS: RUN-HIDE-ATTACK
Shooter Restrained: The Plan:
 Maintain control of shooter until police arrive
 Do not let him up
 Call 911 and advise
 Provide first aid to the injured
 Do not pick up the weapon… Unless…
Time Out!
• SKEPTICS / CHALLENGES
• “Do you really think you
can teach people to run at
a person shooting at
them?”
• “What’s the alternative?”
Don’t Be Led To The Slaughter
Another Excuse…More Negative Thinking
“Get serious Larry… I’m old… I can’t run… I may be able to
barricade a door… but I certainly can’t attack someone
shooting at me… no way!
“What if someone was shooting, stabbing, or physically
assaulting your kids, or grandkids… Would you fight to save
them?”
Why not fight to save yourself!
We Can Do This! We Must Do This!
Remember – The shooter wants to kill as many as possible
and will shoot everyone in the room unless we stop
them
• We have what it takes to survive
• Act as a team – one unit with one purpose
• Act without hesitation
• Do whatever necessary to live
Training Commitment Saves Lives!
Trained Response
Untrained Response
• Survival Reaction
• Panic Reaction
• Survival Mindset
• Recall Learned Info
• Survival Behavior
• Live / Win
• Denial / Disbelief
• Shock / Helplessness
• Do nothing / sheep
Fear Of Liability And Lawsuit
• “I’d rather be sued for
teaching people how to
survive a shooter on
campus, than telling them
to hide under a table and
do nothing.”
• Bob Gatti, Vice President
for Student Affairs
Law Enforcement’s Response
• Direct to Threat - Eliminate the threat immediately
 Will continue past injured
 Do not approach the police
 Do not impede their movement
 Have hands in view
 Answer all questions
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY / HAVE A PLAN
Practical Exercises (PLAN)
• Shooter in hall: (barricade, 911, escape routes,
windows, gather weapons, cell silent)
• Shooter in classroom: (yell Gun!, throw and go,
charge, control weapon, take-down, pile on, take
air and sight, toss weapon, call 911, treat injured)
• Office survival drills: (run, hide/barricade/throw
and go, fight)
Summary
• Another crisis to prepare for…not to be feared
• Re-think our approach to shooters in
schools/workplace
• Recognize the limitations of lockdowns
• Original Objective Covered: Provide Survival Options
• RUN / HIDE / ATTACK
Contact Information
Otterbein University Police Department
194 West Main Street
Westerville, OH 43081
614-823-1222
www.otterbein.edu/police/
lbanaszak@otterbein.edu
Power Point located at
www.otterbein.edu/police/
Crime Prevention Education