As we come back to campus, it is important to remember to be safe and that outside threats to the school still do exist. One of these threats includes an active shooter scenario. Campus shootings can happen at any time and without warning. Between the years of 2009 and 2018, there were 108 school shootings with a total of 356 victims. Because of this, it is important to know the method of “Run, Hide, Fight.” “Run, Hide, Fight” is the method that the Schoolcraft Campus Police promotes for the students, professors, and staff to utilize if an active shooter were to arrive on campus.

If a shooter is on campus and you have a chance to escape, run for it. Leave unnecessary belongings behind; your goal is to escape with your life, not your items. If you see anyone on your way out of campus, try to bring them with you. Try to grab anyone who is arriving on campus to prevent them from coming into contact with the shooter. While you are escaping, it is very important to remember to keep your hands visible so that others know that you are not a threat. As soon as you are safely off-campus, call 911. It is very important that everyone calls the police as soon as possible, so that the officers can arrive very quickly before more harm can be done. Do not leave it to others to call the police. In most cases, the police arrive within 5 minutes of being alerted to a disaster. In 2015 during the San Bernardino shooting, it took the police 3 minutes to arrive on campus. During the Fort Hood shooting in 2014, it took a total of 8 minutes. In Sandy Hook and Minneapolis in 2012, it took 5 minutes for them to arrive.

If you cannot escape the campus safely, find somewhere to hide. Try to find an abandoned room with a lockable door or barricadable entrance. Once you are safely inside, lock the door, block it with furniture, turn off the lights, silence your cell phone, and stay as quiet as possible. It is important to stay as quiet as you can so that you do not attract the attention of the shooter. If a room is not available, then you must hide behind any large object that can be found. Stay out of sight of the shooter, and do not trap yourself behind the object in case you need to move. Do not huddle together with other people; try to spread out so that the shooter is less likely to find you.

However, if the shooter is nearby and you are an imminent danger with no chance to run or hide, then you must fight. You will not have to hold off the shooter for long because the police will be there very soon. The main goal when you fight is to incapacitate the shooter with any weapons that you can find or make. Before you act, you must realize that you will have to act with aggression to take out or hold off the shooter and you should take the time before you attack to fully commit to your actions. Once the first responders reach the scene, it is important to remember that they are there to secure the area before addressing the hurt and the injured.

For more information on “Run, Hide, Fight” look on Schoolcraft’s Police Department on Schoolcraft College’s website: SC Police Department – Schoolcraft College.