A look at how active shooter training is evolving in wake of Michigan State mass shooting

Examining the ‘run, hide, fight’ alert

Active shooter training can be delivered in several ways. Some students are given a handout with a few paragraphs emphasizing the words: run, hide, and fight.

What does that mean, exactly?

I’ve been in training with lectures and PowerPoint presentation explanations. But what I experienced Tuesday (Feb 21) was a first—yelling, screaming, and the sound of rapid gunfire.

Intense? Uhhhhhh, yeah.

Allied Defense Training in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is staffed by working police who’ve crunched the data and believe to “Inoculate” would be mass shooting victims from paralyzing fear. You must train them with a sense of chaos and fear. And that’s what I saw. And even though I knew what was supposed to happen, it still stressed the Hell out of me.

Thank goodness.

Depending on the company’s size, training runs about $2,000, but experiencing empowerment is priceless.

You can watch her story in the video above.


More: Full video: Inside look at how active shooter training has evolved as mass shootings rise

When a shooter opened fire on the campus of Michigan State University last week, an alert sent out by police told students and faculty to “run, hide, fight.” Many have heard those three words during active shooter training, but safety experts now say two of those actions are the most likely to save lives.

About the Author:

Paula Tutman is an Emmy award-winning journalist who came to Local 4 in 1992. She's married and the stepmother of three beautiful and brilliant daughters. Her personal philosophy in life, love and community is, "Do as much as you can possibly do, not as little as you can possibly get away with".