Mass shootings occur at an alarming rate in the United States — there were 646 in 2022 alone.¹ They happen in various settings, including private parties, nightclubs, public events, shopping malls, businesses, churches, and schools. During my law enforcement career, I have seen agencies develop tactics, procedures, and training to respond to these ever-more-frequent incidents. We have learned lessons the hard way, and we benefit from one another’s professional knowledge.

Mass Shootings and Hostage Incidents

In some mass shooting incidents, the subject is quickly located in a confined space, sometimes with law enforcement entry made difficult by locked or barricaded doors. Because of the delayed access and lack of knowledge of what is happening inside, the situation may appear to have changed from an active shooter to a hostage situation.

While officers must confront active shooters with urgency, the accepted approach to hostage situations is to negotiate with subjects, rather than immediately confront them. In these instances, the shooting has stopped, the individual may have the tactical advantage, and people are used as potential leverage to negotiate.

Typically, a hostage incident begins with a threat of violence, such as a robbery or confrontation with someone, or an attempt to prevent law enforcement apprehension. Although subjects will make threats and possibly have firearms, they typically do not randomly shoot hostages. These incidents generally occur in private residences or commercial businesses, with robbery as a motive. If a victim is shot, it is usually done in response to an attack on the subject, and other hostages are left unharmed.

In an active shooter incident, an armed individual enters a location looking for victims. The subject randomly shoots innocent persons as they encounter them. Sometimes, as in workplace mass shootings, the shooter may seek out specific individuals.

If an event begins as an active shooter incident, law enforcement should have clear evidence that the situation has become a hostage situation before altering its response. Subjects usually demonstrate their intent from the outset. Unless there are indications that the intent has changed, officers should proceed on the basis that more shooting will take place without immediate intervention.

When an active shooter has no more potential victims and wants to negotiate or is contained by law enforcement, officers should negotiate. At that point, there is no need to risk any first responders’ lives going to the suspect; rather, officers should have the individual exit and surrender.

School Safety Measures

Doors

With school systems constantly improving their physical security by locking and strengthening doors to prevent unauthorized entry, they are protecting students. At the same time, schools have made it more difficult for law enforcement to reach students and faculty in active shooter lockdowns.

Some classroom doors are either metal or solid wood. Also, the frames can be metal. With a sturdy lock, these doors are impossible for officers to enter without a key or a breaching tool. The inability to quickly enter a classroom or other area where an active shooter is means more victims and delays in providing lifesaving first aid.

Law enforcement should determine the types of doors they might have to breach and find suitable tools to accomplish a quick entry. Agencies have equipped officers with rifles and first aid equipment; the next step is giving them mechanical breaching tools to rapidly get through locked doors.

Breaching tools might include pry bars (used by many fire departments) or pneumatic door jamb spreaders. Most important, the tool must be compact and quick and easy to use. Also, storing it in some type of backpack allows officers to have the tool while their hands are free to handle firearms or accomplish other tasks.

SWAT typically has this equipment, plus explosive entry methods. However, SWAT can be delayed in arriving at a scene relative to the speed of patrol officers. While SWAT should be called, first responders need mechanical breaching tools as part of their everyday gear.

Schools can also help officers rapidly respond to active shooter incidents by providing them with access to each locked door. There are several options. One would be to store labeled keys to all doors off campus but close by so officers can access them in an emergency. Also, schools might consider whether each door needs a unique key or if most could be secured with the same key.

Since lost or misplaced keys present a security issue, upgrading door security systems to electronic locks operated by card readers or key fobs is another possibility. Biometric systems would offer greater options, enabling individualized access to specific rooms while giving officers access to everything.

Entry Points

Schools should number exterior doors to better communicate points of entry for officers, saving critical response time. Typically, entrance doors are numbered in sequence, going clockwise around the building, starting with “1” for the main entrance. The interior sides of these doors must also be labeled so victims can identify their location, provide the fastest route to them, or describe where the suspect is to 911 operators.

For relatively small schools, this numbering scheme may be adequate. However, larger campuses may have many numbered exterior entrances. Most patrol officers would have difficulty locating, for instance, door 10 or 15. Responders unfamiliar with the school would most likely park at the main entrance and work their way around the building until they found the correct door. This would delay their response time in confronting the suspect or bringing first aid to victims.

Perhaps a better way to number exterior doors would be to use a compass heading along with a sequential numbering system. Each side of the school would be represented by its compass orientation — north, south, east, and west. Door numbers would then go in sequence from left to right (e.g., N1, N2, S1, S2). Such a numbering system would allow first responders, even those unfamiliar with a particular school or where the main entrance is located, to plan their arrival on the side of the campus that offers the most direct and time-saving approach.

In some jurisdictions, officers have digital floor plans for each school stored on their patrol car computer, including individual classroom numbers. These diagrams greatly assist command officers in deploying first responder assets in ways that will minimize response time and maximize utilization of resources on scene.

Conclusion

Active shooter incidents are tragic, especially those involving innocent children at school. Fortunately, in the past few decades, police agencies and schools have come a long way in improving tactics and physical security.

According to an adage, the right tool makes any job easier. Law enforcement strives to stop perpetrators in school shootings as quickly as possible, but they need the correct tools. Improvement is an ever-evolving goal, and we are ready for the next steps in bolstering our response to active shooter incidents in schools.