American Press

With the incidences of mass shootings continuing to happen around the nation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has prepared a booklet to help people prepare to survive in case they are ever caught in such a situation.

Entitled “Active Shooter: How to Respond,” the booklet covers different scenarios and gives detailed tips on how to respond.

The active shooter is profiled as: “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearm(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.

“Active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. Typically, the immediate deployment of law enforcement is required to stop the shooting and mitigate harm to victims.

“Because active shooter situations are often over within 10 to 15 minutes, before law enforcement arrives on the scene, individuals must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation,” the booklet recommends.

Among the detailed instructions are to evacuate the premises when that is an option; hide when you can’t evacuate; and as a last resort if your life is in imminent danger and the other options are not possible, take action against the active shooter.

The tips for this last drastic option are to — as a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger — attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the shooter by:

• Acting as aggressively as possible against him/her

• Throwing items and improvising weapons

• Yelling

• Committing to your actions

The booklet also covers such topics as “How To Respond When Law Enforcement Arrives,” “Training Your Staff For An Active Shooter Situation,” “Additional Ways To Prepare For and Prevent an Active Shooter Situation,” Preparing For and Managing an Active Shooter Situation,” “Reactions of Managers During an Active Shooter Situation” “Recognizing Potential Workplace Violence,” and “Managing the Consequences of an Active Shooter Situation.”

While no one likes to think about being caught in an active shooter attack, it is best to be prepared for such incidents and know what to do.

The booklet is available for free at www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/active_shooter_booklet.pdfActive Shooter Preparedness graphicAmerican Press