In the wake of work place shootings, like the recent St Louis plant shooting, let’s take a look at some strategies on how to protect oneself in the workplace. The first thing is to understand the Three A’s of safety and put them into practice. This article is geared specifically to the workplace, but they can be applied to any location.[/B]
Awareness- Constantly access the feeling and mood of your workplace. Is there a specific person that makes you feel uncomfortable? Does your workplace control access with ID badges? Are they color coded and easy to identify, or are they small pictures with small writing that are hard to read?

Have you heard a coworker arguing on the phone?

Has your workplace laid off or fired anyone who made threats upon leaving?

Do you work someplace that is viewed by some as a high value target, like an abortion clinic, government building, or animal testing facility?

Have you been made aware of threats made against your company by management?

Know your physical address.

Know where all the exits are, especially where you spend the majority of your time. There are likely Emergency Evacuation Maps posted all over the building. Take the time to look at them.

Know what doors are fire rated (more likely to stop a bullet) they can be identified by a tag on the door (hinge side).

Know what doors open out. These doors are hard to kick in and will likely be by passed by an active shooter. You can tell how the doors open by looking at the Emergency Evacuation Map.
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When your attention is drawn to someone, even before you know why, make a habit of making note of their physical description from head to toe. Age in 5 yr increments. Height in 2-inch increments, weight in 5 lb increments.
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Avoidance- Getting away from the threat that you have become aware of. In this case an active shooter.

Get up, train yourself to get out of your seat when you are startled by a loud sound. Being in a sitting position makes you an easy target.

Be prepared to leave on a seconds notice. Have your keys and cell phone on you.

Have a mini go bag containing at least the following that you can grab-
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Gloves- there will likely be broken glass and protecting your hands is a must.

Roll of gauze and tape- this is for treating a gunshot or any other penetrating trauma.

Multi-tool- You may have to cut something or loosen screws.

Flashlight- depending on the circumstances the electricity may be cut by the shooter or the police. Some of the most secure rooms may have no exterior windows and will be dark even during the day.

Lightstick- this can be helpful to let the police on the outside where you are.

Sharpie- we have seen several times that being able to communicate with police on the outside can be crucial. By using the sharpie and a piece of cardboard you can communicate just about anything.

Use the most efficient route to get out of the building if you can. Be cautious when opening doors to the outside. They could be booby-trapped or there could be a secondary threat on the outside of the door.

If you cannot exit the building, try to get to what you know to be a secure room with a lock. DO NOT go into bathrooms. The doors often have no locks and there is nothing to put in front of the door. Conference rooms are a good idea because they usually have heavy furniture you can use to block/reinforce the door in addition to adding ballistic protection. Once in side-

Turn off all lights in the room and close the shades, block all the light that you can.

Put anything heavy in front of the door.

Identify anything that may be of use to you in the room.

Get into what you believe is the safest corner of the room.

Attempt calling 911, understand your phone will likely be locked by emergency communications.

Aggression- You recognized the attack and did your best to get away, but you are stuck in the building.

DO NOT look for the shooter. Be quiet and listen. Be sure your cell phone is on vibrate.

If you have locked the door and barricaded it, the shooter will be forced to force his way in.

If it gets to the point that he is going to get through the door and you cannot get out of a window or into another room, prepare to defend yourself.

Arm yourself with something heavy that you can swing. Just before he gets through the door, position yourself on the non-hinge side of the door. He will probably lead into the room with the weapon. Do whatever you have to do to get behind the weapon and strike him in the head until he is no longer a threat.

To some people this may sound extreme, especially the part about violence. Understand that you have done everything that you can. It is either you or them.

Good post. I want to warn everyone to be situationally aware, but don't drive yourself insane. A happy medium is necessary. With a little planning, everything has a much higher chance of going right.

In an actual shooting situation, there is far more concealment in this world than there is cover. Few doors stand up to bullets, do not rely on them. Walls do not stand up to bullets, usually even those that have ballistic panels inside of them. These have been called more of a bullet 'irritant' than bullet 'protection'. They don't stop much... at all. Particle board doesn't help either, folks. Don't hide behind your desks.

this is what i subscribe to and it is taught in just about every firearms school in the country. Level WHITE is completely oblivious of your surroundings. Not where you want to be. Staring at your computer screen zoning out, day dreaming etc. The best example of condition white is while you are asleep, you are completely unaware of your surroundings. Condition YELLOW is relaxed awareness. You are aware of what is going around in your immediate area and can recognize a threat if need be. Who is there, whats going on, any odd noises and the like. Condition YELLOW is where you should be most of the time. Looking around, listening, just generally knowing whats going on around you. Condition RED is where you ramp up to when a threat has been identified. You have seen something going on that is not right and you need to decide how to react. Pretty much the fight or flight reaction. Whatever needs to be done to end the situation or get out. There is one other level and that is condition BLACK. Usually condition black has to do if you have a weapon, it is the reaction. You have decided to neutralize the threat. By using whatever means you happen to have available. Condition black also includes what happens after your action. Checking for other immediate threats (bad guys happen to like to travel in packs), calling authorities and the like.

good post