The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aims to enhance preparedness through a ”whole community” approach by providing training, products, and resources to a broad range of stakeholders on issues such as active shooter awareness, incident response, and workplace violence. In many cases, there is no pattern or method to the selection of victims by an active shooter, and these situations are by their very nature are unpredictable and evolve quickly. DHS offers free courses, materials, and workshops to better prepare you to deal with an active shooter situation and to raise awareness of behaviors that represent pre-incident indicators and characteristics of active shooters.

On this page:

• Active Shooter: What Can You Do Course
• Active Shooter Webinar
• Active Shooter Workshop Series
• Active Shooter: How to Respond Resource Materials
• Options for Consideration Active Shooter Training Video
• U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Active Shooter Related Research
• Active Shooter Resources for Law Enforcement and Trainers: Request for Access to Joint Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Portal

Active Shooter: What You Can Do Course

DHS has developed an Independent Study Course titled Active Shooter: What You Can Do. This course was developed to provide the public with guidance on how to prepare for and respond to active shooter crisis situations.

Upon completion of Active Shooter: What You Can Do, employees and managers will be able to:

• Describe the actions to take when confronted with an active shooter and to assist responding law enforcement officials;
• Recognize potential workplace violence indicators;
• Describe actions to take to prevent and prepare for potential active shooter incidents; and
• Describe how to manage the consequences of an active shooter incident.

The online training is available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Management Institute and additional training for law enforcement is available at Federal Emergency Management Agency Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response.

Active Shooter Webinar

A 90-minute Webinar can help the private and public sector understand the importance of developing an emergency response plan and the need to train employees on how to respond if confronted with an active shooter. The presentation describes the three types of active shooters--workplace/school, criminal, and ideological--and how their planning cycles and behaviors differ.

Active Shooter Workshop Series

Active Shooter workshops have already taken place in a number of U.S. cities and will continue to be held in a number of locations in the future. These scenario-based workshops feature facilitated discussions to engage private sector professionals and law enforcement representatives from Federal, State, and local agencies to learn how to prepare for, and respond to, an active shooter situation. Through the course of the exercise, participants evaluate current response concepts, plans, and capabilities for coordinated responses to  active shooter incidents.

If you are interested in future workshops, please contact ASworkshop@hq.dhs.gov.

Active Shooter: How to Respond Resource Materials

DHS has developed a series of materials to assist businesses, government offices, and schools in preparing for and responding to an active shooter. These products include a desk reference guide, a reference poster, and a pocket-size reference card.

Issues covered in the active shooter materials include the following:

• Profile of an active shooter;
• Responding to an active shooter or other workplace violence situation;
• Training for an active shooter situation and creating an emergency action plan; and
• Tips for recognizing signs of potential workplace violence.

 Available Materials

• Active Shooter Booklet
• Active Shooter Poster
• Active Shooter Poster (Spanish)
• Active Shooter Pocket Card
• Active Shooter Pocket Card (Spanish)

Options for Consideration Active Shooter Training Video

Options for Consideration demonstrates possible actions to take if confronted with a active shooter scenario. The instructive video reviews the choices of evacuating, hiding, or, as an option of last resort, challenging the shooter. The video also shows how to assist authorities once law enforcement enters the scene.

You may also access the video on YouTube. 

U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Active Shooter Related Research

• Campus Attacks: Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education
• Prior Knowledge of Potential School-Based Violence: Information Students Learn May Prevent a Targeted Attack
• Assassination in the United States: An Operational Study of Recent Assassins, Attackers, and Near Lethal Approaches
• Protective Intelligence & Threat Assessment Investigations: A Guide for State and Local Law Enforcement Officials
• Threat Assessment: An Approach to Prevent Targeted Violence
• Threat Assessment: Defining an Approach for Evaluating Risk of Targeted Violence

For more information on USSS programs, see:  http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac.shtml

Active Shooter Resources for Law Enforcement and Trainers: Request for Access to Joint Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Portal

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), has launched a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Training Resource web portal on the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN). The purpose is to provide federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and correctional law enforcement with the most current CVE training materials, case studies, analytic products, and other resources. The materials on the portal are restricted for law enforcement training use only and will contain unclassified/FOUO/LES information.

To request access to the Joint CVE Portal, click on image, that will open your default email provider. In the subject line, write Request for access to Joint CVE Portal. In the body of the email, please provide your full name, email address, business phone, and organization/agency.

Date Posted: January 16, 2013