This month’s deadly shooting at a south Florida school has reignited discussions on finding solutions to mass shootings but, in the meantime, some companies are arming people with knowledge about how to stop an active shooter as a group.
In an active shooter situation, the first recommendation is always to run to safety. But, if that’s not an option and you and others are trapped in a location with the shooter, there are techniques similar to those used by secret service that could be your best chance at survival and a way to save as many lives as possible.
Alon Stivi, a former member of the elite Israel Defense Forces, calls it “Collective Resistance.”
“If you’re not in front of that shooter’s firearm there’s a lot you can do,” he explained.
Stivi and his business partner Steve Diamond, a Navy combat pilot, run a company called Attack Countermeasures Training. They train private individuals and law enforcement agencies in active shooter and terrorism survival.
“We teach how to prevent and how to respond to these kinds of attacks and simple and effective manner,” Stivi said.
Certain techniques, even with little training, can help a group of people take down an active shooter.
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“We can use our numerical advantage and work as a team to overwhelm the shooter,” he added.
Stivi trains people in a classroom setting, the very place where many of these shootings have taken place.
The first step is to set up some kind of barricade. That will disorientate the shooter who expects to walk into a standard classroom.
When the shooter comes through the door, students on either side of the door attack him from the side. One person grabs the weapon, putting their body weight on the gun pushing it down toward the floor, if possible, at the same time elbowing the shooter.
Another person takes out the shooter’s his legs by knocking out his knees. Then additional people jump on the shooter and push the gun away.
Items can also be thrown at the gunman as a distraction, such as water bottles or heavy items like backpacks or book bags.
The response, of course, is not without risk. These techniques are dangerous and there is no guarantee you will not be injured or worse, but it may be your only option.
“Yes, you’re putting your life at risk but if you do not do anything, you will die,” said Stivi.
Or, he said, someone else may die because a person dies, on average, every 10 seconds during a mass shooting.
“That means every 10 seconds of delay, or every 10 seconds you can prevent the shooter from shooting, you’re saving a life. That’s essential,” Stivi added.
Stivi, a father of four, said part of the reason he does these trainings is to keep kids safe,
“We need to protect them. It’s very empowering because you know what? The antidote to fear is knowledge. We are afraid of the unknown,” said Stivi.
