Preparing for Active Shooter Incidents Addressed in Patterson
San Bernardino, CA., Colorado Spring, CO., Roseburg, OR., Chattanooga, TN. all have one dreadful common thread.
What links these communities is that they are sites of recent American mass shootings that claimed the lives of at least three people in recent months in a list compiled late last year by the Los Angeles Times.
It may be a troubling thought, but what would you do if you were present during a mass shooting?
The Putnam Lake Neighborhood Watch sought answers on Jan. 25 at the Putnam Lake Firehouse when it invited Patterson Councilman Peter Dandreano to discuss the topic “How to Respond to An Active Shooter Incident.” Dandreano has been a Greenburgh police officer for 25 years and for the past decade has been the Greenburgh Police Crime Prevention Officer.
Dandreano told the roughly 75 residents who attended the discussion they need to be prepared for a mass shooter incident. While he said to the audience, “I don’t want you to live in fear,” they should be prepared to deal with a mass shooting.
Those present at a mass shooting must seek to escape if possible to “protect your own life” and by doing so “we can help others,” Dandreano said. People should leave that situation “whether anyone follows you or not,” he said, adding, “Leave your belongings behind.”
In a workplace, supervisors especially need to be prepared for the potential for a mass shooting because “people are going to be looking to you” to get out of the situation safely, Dandreano said.
Once you get to safety Dandreano said a person should call 911 and do not leave the area because law enforcement officials will want to speak to witnesses.
If you cannot escape an active shooter incident, Dandreano said lock and barricade a door and “silence your cell phone.”
As a “last resort” people involved in a mass shooting would need to confront the shooter and do whatever they can to stop that person, Dandreano said. “You’re saving your life,” he said.
