b'A ctive shootings are on the rise every year. Starting at an aver- The next group are employees, former employees, and acquaintances age of 1.1 mass shootings per year in the 1990s, incidents skyof employees. These people usually attack at the workplace and their rocketed to 690 in 2021, of which 61 were classified as activetargets are often fellow employees, bosses, or owners. They may be shootings. Active shooter incidents are defined by the FBI as excludingemployees who were passed over for a raise or promotion. They may be shootings that were the result of gangs, domestic violence, escalatedsomeone who was involved in a workplace relationship that went array. criminal activity, crossfire, or other similar circumstances. AlthoughOr they may be holding onto a grudge or grievance that theyve had for active shooting events are rare it is imperative that we train our staff ona long time. The behavioral signs of this shooter are often recognizable, how to deal with them. which we will discuss shortly.DO WE NEED TO TRAIN Finally, there is the legacy shooter. These are shooters who are look-During my research I found a couple of regulations that suggest someing for what is commonly referred to as the Columbine Effect. The training may be required. The first was from OSHA. In the OSHAColumbine attacks unfolded live on national TV for hours and are General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety andbelieved to have inspired at least 80 other attacks. For legacy shoot-Health Act, it requires employers to provide their employees with aers, the plan is to shoot as many people as possible in an attempt to work environment that is from recognized hazards that are causinggarner the greatest amount of fame through the highest body count, or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.emotional effect, and media attention. These shooters generally look Recent court rulings through- for soft targets in densely-pop-outthecountryhaveallowedulated areas where people can-victims of active shooters to filenot defend themselves, such as lawsuitsofnegligenceagainstWith proper training andmalls, concert venues, schools, employers for failing to provideand places of business.defensive training to their staff.practice you can alleviate those YourAlternativeSecurityPro- precious moments of hesitationWHO IS SHOOTINGAccording to the FBI, a profile gram(ASP)alsostates,vesselthe crew will experience whenofanactiveshooterdoesnot owners and operators have theyet exist. Studies show that 97 primaryresponsibilityforen- faced with life-and-death percent are male. Distribution suring the physical security andof ages is bimodal with the first the safety of the passengers, crewdecision making. Weve receivedpeak seen in school shootings members,cargo,facilitiesandinvolving 15-19-year-old assail-vessels.Itgoesontosaythata lot of positive feedback fromants. The second peak is in non-you are required to train yourschool facilities, generally with employees in the event of a sus- our staff following our training35-44-year-old adults as the at-pected or actual terrorist attack.who tell us they felt empowered, tackers. However, the youngest shooter was 12 years old and the Lastly,Ibelievewehaveanmore confident, and more oldest was 88 years old.obligation to our employees to teach them how best to respondmentally prepared as a result. Almost all attackers, including tosuchacrisis.Inanactualemployees, dont typically just shooting,peoplewilldefaultsnap.Theydisplaymultiple towhatevertrainingtheyveconcerningbehaviorsupto had. With proper training and practice you can alleviate those precious24 months prior to the attack. These behaviors may be displayed in moments of hesitation the crew will experience when faced with life- person, in writing, or online. Some of the warning signs of potential and-death decision making. Furthermore, many of your employeesviolent behavior may include:have become accustomed to active shooter training outside of work. In fact, in some schools and universities active shooter training is taught Increased use of alcohol and/or illegal drugson day one. This is what your workforce has come to expect. Younger Unexplained increase in absenteeism; vague physical complaintsgenerations are growing up having to train and drill for these types of Noticeable decrease in attention to appearance and hygienescenarios. On top of that, weve received a lot of positive feedback from Depression/withdrawalour staff following our training who tell us they felt empowered, more Resistance and overreaction to changes in policy and proceduresconfident, and more mentally prepared as a result.Repeated violations of company policies Increased severe mood swingsPHOTO: MADELEINE MAGUIRE / UNSPLASHARE WE A TARGETNoticeably unstable, emotional responses The target would depend on who the shooter is, and what that per-Obsession with other active shooters sons motives are. Based on my research, I have classified the shooters Observable grievances or making statements of retributioninto three categories: students, employees, and legacy shooters. Making threats to harm someone or themselvesHalf of all school shootings were done by students or former students.STRESSORSOf those, half were targeting other students or staff members while theStressors are events that can amplify an active shooters grievances and other half were random in their choice of targets. Although most ofmight be a late indicator of potential violence. These stressors may our school events are safe, extra security steps need to be considered. include instability in the home life, domestic or family violence, or 9 DECEMBER 2022'