Alberta campuses using educational videos to prepare for mass shootings
Kristina Anderson was sitting in class when gunshots rang out.
"I got on the floor and just kind of hugged the desk," she said.
"And looking back, in terms of why did I do what I did, I didn’t (initially) think that I was hiding from a gunman — I just instinctually could tell that something very serious was happening."
She reverted back to the only training she’d had — the earthquake response training she’d received in middle school — but her reaction may have been different if she’d had different training, she said.
"Back then, I didn’t even move when I heard a gunshot, because I didn’t know it was a gunshot. Now, I would react very differently to a loud noise — I would investigate it, I would tell someone and, truthfully, that can make a difference," she said.
An injured survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting, Anderson is now an advocate for active shooter education as the founder of the Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools, based in Washington, D.C.
Active shooter education, and the training it encompasses, can make a critical difference in a shooting incident.
"It’s hard to predict how big of a difference," said Anderson, adding that every case is different. "But it’s better to try than to not."
A group of post-secondary institutions in Alberta would tend to agree. The Campus Alberta Risk and Assurance Committee (CARA) recently released an educational video to provide training on what to do should an active shooter — or any dangerous intruder — pose a threat.
The video, titled Shooter On Campus: Know You Can Survive, was created after extensive research and in collaboration with Edmonton Police, said Philip Stack, associate vice-president of risk management at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
"Through that process, we were able to get endorsement from the Edmonton Police Service of this video, as well as a group called the Association of Alberta Chiefs of Police," he said.
As of June 8, 14 of Alberta’s 26 post-secondary institutions had purchased a licensing agreement for the video. The rollout process will differ depending on the school.
The video involves a dramatization of an active shooter entering a school campus, and takes viewers through the three options — run, hide or fight back.
"There are only three basic options that one person should exercise," said Barry Cochran, manager of security and emergency services at SAIT in Calgary.
"When there’s an escape option available, the best option is to run out — remove yourself from the danger, to get as far away from the incident as you possibly can… The second option is to hide or barricade in the event that people can’t escape," he said, adding that the third option — and last resort — is to fight back.
"It’s important to get the three options out there… because doing nothing is not an option," he said. "You don’t want to become anybody’s victim."
The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive, said Stack. Though it is unfortunate that this kind of training is necessary, it has the potential to help save lives, he added.
A few viewers did express some discomfort at the disturbing nature of the content, but Stack said the dramatization — which uses realistic gunshot sound effects — was designed with two things in mind.
"One, we wanted to make sure that it had enough impact to attract a young student, and keep them engaged long enough to hear the three core messages in the video," he said.
"Secondly, we wanted to — to the extent possible — replicate what you might feel like in that particular situation, so if you ever found yourself in that situation, to better prepare you for what it would be like, and the thinking process that you need to go through."
It can put people in an unsettling position to think about being in that type of situation, said Anderson — but being prepared can save lives.
"While it is something that is extremely horrifying for people to think about, the consequences of not training for, or even thinking or planning (for these incidents) beforehand, are devastating," she said.
We already practice fire drills, and some schools practice lockdown drills, said Cochran — and in a real crisis, that training is what people fall back on.
"You don’t rise to the occasion in the event of a life-threatening situation, where you’re able to make rational decisions — you fall back to the level of training you’ve had in these areas," he said.
Still, it’s important to keep in mind that shooting incidents are extremely rare, said Stack.
"Our campuses are very, very safe places, and the likelihood of this kind of event occurring is extremely low. However, the consequences, obviously, can be significant. And we just felt that it was important that we empower our staff and students with this type of information so if they were ever found in that unlikely situation, they are prepared... to protect themselves."
There have been eight high-profile deadly school shootings in Canada since 1975, according to the CBC, and others that were considered domestic assaults. There have been significantly more in the United States, but still, they remain relatively rare. More Americans are struck by lightning every year than killed in rampage shootings, according to the LA Times.
The training is no reason to become paranoid or to overemphasize the possibility of a shooting incident occurring, said Anderson.
"(But) I do know from my experience how quickly things like that can happen, (and often) when they happen, people kind of shut down. So the more we can do to educate them beforehand… it helps people put themselves in a mental state to be able to act better."
The training also has applications in other workplaces as well — the lessons aren’t limited to a school or campus environment, said Stack.
"It is designed for an active shooter situation. However, we believe that these lessons and the messages within the video — get out, hide, or fight, as a last resort — that those are equally applicable to an office environment," he said.
And we’re likely to see more of this sort of safety training moving into other workplaces, said Cochran.
"I think from the attention we’ve got from this video in an academic setting, you’ll see it next move into the workforce, office setting — because this is just one place where these events have occurred."
