Basic Steps to Take After an Active Shooter Incident

Getting caught to an active shooter event can be traumatizing. You may come across this situation as an employer. Since it can have a negative impact on the employees, you need to start the recovery process as soon as possible. Whether the shooter got killed, captured by the law enforcements, or escaped the area, you need to think about your recovery immediately. Let’s take a look at the steps that you should be taking soon after an active shooter incident.

Move to a safer location

You need to move to a safer location as soon as the series of events end. This should be a location away from your workplace. It is important for your organization to be equipped with an emergency communication system. Then you will be able to provide updates to the employees and direct them to a safer location.

Cooperate with the law enforcement

Law enforcement will arrive at the scene as soon as they get the news about shooting. You should be willing to cooperate with them. If they ask any questions, you should promptly provide responses. Then you can let them proceed with their investigation process smoothly.

Offer help to overcome trauma

After the shooting events, your employees will have to deal with loss, confusion, and grief. This is where you need to provide much-needed help for them. The recovery process would require some time, and you should patiently deal with it. This is why you need to provide your employees with time, resources, and the support they need. If your employees need help to cover up the cost of trauma counselling or medical bills, you should offer it as well.

Conduct an after-action review

Once the situation settles, you need to conduct an after-action review. This is where you need to make sure that such a situation never happens again. Collect all the data and see what went well during the series of events. Then you can learn from the past experiences and do better, if you come across any such unfortunate event in the future. You may also seek the assistance of law enforcements for this.