If you are in the immediate vicinity of an active assailant and your life is in imminent danger, you should quickly determine the most reasonable way to protect your own life. Depending on your environment and proximity to the assailant, you may RUN, HIDE, or FIGHT.
RUN (Evacuate If Possible):
- Put distance between yourself and the active assailant
- Leave your belongings behind
- Help others escape if possible, but do not stay behind because others will not leave
- Prevent others from entering an area where the active assailant may be
- Keep your hands visible to law enforcement
HIDE (Conceal Yourself in a Space Space):
- If you cannot evacuate safely, hide in an area out of the assailant’s view
- Choose a hiding place with thick walls and few windows, if possible
- Lock doors and barricade with furniture
- Turn off the lights
- Silence phones and turn off all other electronic devices
- Close windows, shades, and blinds
- If you are outdoors and cannot safely RUN, find a hiding place such as a brick wall or the far side of a building
FIGHT (Take Action to Disrupt the Assailant):
- Take this action as a last resort, only if you are in imminent physical danger from the assailant
- Attempt to incapacitate the assailant
- Act with as much physical aggression as possible
- Throw items at the assailant, if possible
- Fully commit to these physical actions
If you are caught and subdued by the intruder, be submissive and obey all commands, do not make eye contact, and do not appear to pose a challenge. Try to remain as calm as possible.
If you are notified that an active shooter/hostile intruder is on campus by any emergency communication method and a shelter-in-place command is given, take the actions detailed on the Shelter-in-Place webpage. If you are in a more public location (e.g., classroom, athletic venue, dining hall), those in positions of authority should initiate the following actions:
- Terminate any ongoing activities (teaching, research, etc…)
- Close, lock, block or obstruct any and all windows or doors to the building to minimize accessibility, and close any blinds or curtains to obscure direct lines of sight
- Move personnel to smaller interior rooms within the building (if available), and secure those spaces to the maximum extent possible
- If there are campus visitors or other members of the public around you, invite them to follow your lead
- Do not arbitrarily activate a building alarm to evacuate the building unless directed to do so by Campus Safety or another authority as this may alert the intruder(s) of pending response activities.
Once the police arrive, obey all of their commands. This may involve your being handcuffed or made to put your hands in the air. This is done for safety reasons, and once circumstances are evaluated by the police, they will give you further directions to follow.
Once the active assailant threat has been neutralized, wait to receive an all-clear notification from law enforcement personnel or the Oxy Alert system