Preparing for the worst: Riverhead faculty and staff get active-shooter training from sheriff’s office

When there’s an active shooter in a school, there is typically a three-minute window between when gun shots first ring out and when police arrive. How classroom teachers and school staff react to the sound of those first rounds will mean the difference between life and death — for possibly dozens of people.

That was the message of a Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department investigator brought today to Riverhead teachers and staff assembled in the high school auditorium for an active-shooter training session.

It’s crucial to be prepared in advance for those three minutes — to train yourself how to respond to the sound of gunfire, to have a plan for what to do, Investigator William Weick explained to the hushed audience in the darkened auditorium.

“You own those three minutes,” Weick told them. How quickly you notify police and how quickly you take decisive action to limit the number of exposed targets will dictate the outcome of the situation, he said.

“There are three stages of human response to crisis,” Weick said.

First is denial — people deny the reality of what is going on. For example, they believe the gunshots are something other then gunshots. Firecrackers, maybe, or a cap gun. They freeze and don’t react at all, wasting precious seconds that could instead by used to act to defend yourself and others. Immediately recognizing that there is a crisis, an emergency, is of paramount importance, the investigator said.

The second stage is deliberation — examining options and deciding what to do.

Third is the decisive moment — taking action.

Without advance training, it’s natural to panic in the midst of a life-threatening crisis.

“That’s why we have boot camp and police academy, to train people how to remain calm,” Weick said. “They teach people how to function in a high-stress environment. We call it stress inoculation.” Breathing deeply, taking slow, measured breaths helps keep the heart-rate down — Weick called it “tactical breathing” — which in turn helps you retain your fine motor skills and helps you retain the ability to think clearly.

“Shift your emotion,” he said. Move from panic to anger. The attacker wants to hurt or kill you and the children you need to protect.

Weick stressed the importance of thinking things through in advance — before an emergency occurs. Know your options, be prepared in advance, he said.

“Know the kind of door you have. Is it solid and sturdy? Does it have a window that can be shot out? Does it lock from the inside? Do you have suitable barricades to prevent entry by a shooter? What are the available alternative exit points in your classroom and in the building?”

Have a script to follow. Practice. Evaluate what you practice.

When you’re prepared, you’re more likely to remain calm, he said. When you’re calm you are more likely to act decisively according to your preparations and more likely to survive an active shooter.

Life-saving actions include preventing the attacker from entering your classroom: as soon as gunshots are heard, lock and/or barricade the door, close the blinds, take cover. Act according to plans you’ve made and thought through in advance.

If the attacker enters your classroom — defend, Weick said. “Fight, fight, fight.” Grab the gun, use the fire extinguisher or the flagpole to fight.

“Remember, you are not helpless. What you do matters. You have options, he said.”

The investigator’s Power Point presentation included several chilling audio and video recordings. The room tensed as the voice of a teacher at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 speaking to the police dispatcher who’d answered her 911 call. The nearly hysterical teacher had been on hall monitor duty when the first shots were fired. She reported thinking it was a cap gun. Then she thought students were making a video. Then she understood it was real. She ran into the library and locked the door. She is heard screaming at the students to get down and get under the tables. The gun shots draw nearer and she grows more panicked.

Teachers and staff sitting in the Riverhead High School auditorium nearly 20 years after that fateful day in Columbine, Colorado covered their mouths with their hands as they listened to that teacher, struggling to overcome her own terror, narrate the harrowing ordeal for the 911 dispatcher.

Weick also played the cell phone video made by the shooter at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida on the day he committed mass murder. He talks about what he’s going to do with his AR15. His goal was to kill 20 people.

“It’s going to be a big event,” he says. “When you see me on the news you’ll know who I am.”

Weick told the group that each person present could probably think of a student they consider to be someone who might do something like that.

“There is no profile,” Weick said. “Many broadcast their intentions in different ways. I say to you guys: get involved if there’s some sort of red flag.”

Suffolk County Sheriff Earl Toulan created and implemented the training program. Riverhead is the fourth district that has had the training, which followed a risk assessment performed by the sheriff’s office.

“Sheriff Toulan ran a training program like this in New York City when he was deputy commissioner of corrections,” said Suffolk sheriff’s office spokesperson Kristin McKay. “He wanted to bring it to Suffolk.” Another four districts are scheduled for training this summer, she said.

Toulan introduced the program today in Riverhead. At its conclusion, Capt. John Rung told audience members to share what they’ve learned with their spouses and children. Teach them to be prepared. To know where the exits are in movie theaters, restaurants and malls. School shootings account for just 25 percent of mass shootings, he said. The same principles and techniques can be used in any setting.