Law Enforcement Gives Office Shooting Advice

Well, law enforcement has their own phrase if you ever encounter a shooter at work.

‘Run. Hide. Fight.’

First, if possible run away from the office. Leave your belongings. And call 9-1-1.

"You need to react within the first three or four seconds," said Sergeant David Sowder with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. "It’s your common nature to pause and try to evaluate what’s going on. But you have to react. You have to create movement. Try to exit the building of course. Try to create as much distance as possible."

If the shooter is in the building and you can’t escape, hide and barricade yourself in.

"If you get yourself locked into a room, try to get the door secure. Everybody has a door stop, something of this nature. Slide it under the door. Make sure you turn the lights off. Try to make sure everybody turns their cell phones off."

And as a last resort, officials say to be prepared to fight.

"You’re literally fighting for survival. Some items that you would have… A pair of scissors. Of course in a business office you know how you would hold them. And you’re striking any object that you can hit, whether it’s an arm, a leg, a shoulder, or the chest. Anything to make this person stop."

Box cutters, staple guns, and even a fire extinguisher can thwart a disaster.

"If you just needed to make a fog screen and use it as cover to evacuate, you can do that as well."

Sowder emphasizes the importance of mass shooter drills at work but admits sometimes the best defense, if legal at your workplace, is armed and trained employees.

"if you have an active shooter situation, I would love to have someone there that’s going to stand and fight. It could’ve saved them lives."