Warning: this article discusses active shooter situations, homicide and suicide.

The leader of a rock climbing organization called, concerned about safety from active shooters. A person who was allegedly planning a mass shooting at the Smith Rock Craggin’ Classic rock climbing event in Oregon, USA had just been arrested. What safety procedures did Viristar recommend? 

A week later, they reached out again: there was a shooting threat at a climbing gym in Los Angeles, California. Could Viristar also offer guidance on that?

Then about a month ago, the Executive Director of an outdoor education program in Idaho USA emailed: a person had started a brush fire near a popular nearby outdoor recreation area, and fatally shot two firefighters who responded, before killing himself. What was a good procedure for active shooters in remote outdoor settings? 

Two weeks later, the head of an outdoor adventure park, a Viristar client, related how a guest waiting in line for an adventure activity got into an altercation with another guest, and screamed, “If I had a Glock I would shoot you!” After the police intervened, the guest threatened to shoot the police, adventure park staff, and their family members.

That same day, another Viristar client, who oversees outdoor school programs, wondered how to train seasonal and short-term outdoor educator staff on active shooter escape routes at a residential outdoor school, without creating a culture of fear.

This is an article there should be no reason to write.

However, outdoor and adventure programs are justified in wanting to develop plans for active shooters in backcountry settings, adventure facilities and outdoor spaces.

Not all of the incidents related by the four Viristar clients above happened in the USA. But the gun homicide rate in the USA is 26 times that of other high-income countries.

The failure to address this gun violence epidemic leads a satirical news outlet to publish an article titled “’No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens” after every mass shooting in the USA.

After a mass shooting in rural Australia last week, Dr. Joe McIntyre, a professor who has extensively studied radicalized people, noted root causes include limited mental health and social support for vulnerable people. Researcher Cam Wilson said that gun violence is an ongoing threat, “as long as we have conditions that lead people to believe…that the world is unfair… [and] their only solution is to act violently.” 

In the long term, reasonable gun control, mental health support and an equitable society can help reduce mass shootings. But for outdoor and adventure professionals looking to manage risks of active shooters in remote outdoor settings in the present day, the following procedural information is offered.

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is adapted from active shooter resources from safety and security government agencies. It’s not intended to be definitive, and may not be sufficient to prevent any harm. Outdoor and adventure providers should seek to research and implement the measures that will be most effective for their unique situation.

SOP: Active Shooters in Remote Outdoor Settings

Introduction

An active shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people. Active shooting incidents are most common in confined and populated areas. However, it is possible for there to be an active shooter situation in wilderness, backcountry, or other remote outdoor settings.

The basics of dealing with an active shooter situation are to try to avoid it in the first place, and if there is an active shooter situation, run, hide, or fight—in that order of preference. 

In an urban setting, the typical response is to move to a safe location and call the emergency number for that area. That can still be generally good guidance in remote outdoor settings, where it’s possible to do so. However, other responses may sometimes be more suitable in remote outdoor settings.

Summary

Prevention. 

Prevention is important to avoid being in an active shooter situation. 

• Stay aware of your surroundings—where you are, what you are doing, who is nearby, and potential escape routes.
• Mentally prepare to respond to an active shooter situation.
• Train, using drills or scenarios, in responding to an active shooter situation.
• Avoid camping or lingering in areas with limited escape routes.
• Trust your intuition. If it feels unsafe, leave quietly, immediately, and fast.
• Avoid camping near roads or trailheads.

Response.

Run, Hide, Fight.

• Run. Leave the area as fast as you can. Run, paddle, scramble or otherwise leave.
• Hide. If you can’t run to safety: dive, run, or crawl behind a rock, tree or other barrier. Silence your phone. Be quiet. Keep trying to move away from the danger.
• Fight. If you can’t run or hide, aggressively and with total commitment attack the shooter(s) and try to incapacitate them. 

Active Shooter Situations

Active shooter situations are unpredictable. They may not follow any pattern. How you respond to save your life and the lives of others will depend on the specific situation.

There may be more than one shooter.

Prevention

1. Before departure:
   1. Active shooter situations in remote outdoor areas may not go on for a prolonged time, and response from law enforcement may be delayed. However, the following steps may be helpful.
      1. Leave information about your itinerary with others.
      2. Consider establishing periodic check-in times and telecommunications methods.
      3. Instruct your contacts regarding how and when to contact emergency services if you are not reachable.
      4. Consider signing trail registers so your location can be identified by authorities.
   2. Pack an emergency telecommunications device such as a satellite phone, that has connectivity and functions in your setting. Know and practice how to use it. Avoid keeping it disassembled or otherwise hard to quickly use. Never let it leave your side.
   3. Determine how you will contact emergency services. This may include describing which telecom devices are used, how they are to be used, and contact information for emergency services and other emergency contacts. Document this in a written plan. Keep the plan with the telecommunications device.
   4. Become trained in first aid; in a group, ensure multiple group members have first aid training.
   5. Document where emergency medical care facilities (such as hospitals near trailheads) are, so you can access them efficiently if needed.
   6. Consider having an emergency vehicle located at a nearby trailhead, boat put-in or other access point, for quick evacuation and transportation to a medical facility.
   7. Pack emergency essentials such as emergency telecom device, headlamp, warm/waterproof layers, vehicle keys, and important medications in a manner that you can access them if you need to leave a potentially dangerous situation quickly, before it has escalated into an active shooting emergency. 
   8. Design a route plan that avoids camping near (e.g. within 2 kilometers) of roads or trailheads, which are areas more susceptible to access by potentially dangerous persons. 
   9. Train group members in active shooter procedures, including Run/Hide/Fight. Avoid frightening trainees with excessive or over-realistic training. 
   10. In general, packing a firearm is discouraged. If carrying a firearm, relevant laws must be met, relevant permits must be obtained, and the holder should be suitably trained.
2. In the field:
   1. Stay aware of your surroundings: your location, what you’re doing, who is nearby, and potential escape routes.
   2. At any given time—at a campsite, or on the travel route—be able to identify emergency escape routes. 
   3. Be mentally prepared for emergencies, including an active shooter situation.
   4. Be prepared to describe your location, including the distance to nearby landmarks such as a road, shelter or prominent summit, to emergency services.
   5. Pay attention to who is in the area you feel you can trust.
   6. Be polite but cautious with strangers. Avoid and quickly get away from people who act suspiciously or who seem angry or unbalanced.
   7. If the situation appears dangerous (but has not yet escalated into an active shooter emergency), call the emergency number. It is better to call even if you are not sure it is warranted. 
   8. Do not share your travel plans and locations with strangers you do not feel you can trust.
   9. Trust your intuition. If you are uneasy about a person or situation, leave the situation or area right away.

Long-term prevention: engage in advocacy and otherwise support reducing contributing factors to active shooter situations. This may include supporting economic equity, access to mental health resources, reasonable gun control, disinformation control, good governance and civil society efforts.

Response

1. Remain calm.
2. Trust your instincts.
3. Do what you need to do to survive.
4. If possible, warn others in your group. 
5. Choose one of these three options: Run, Hide, Fight. (See section below.)
6. Be alert for secondary attacks, including from other active shooters.
7. Provide first aid, and evacuate.
8. Prepare to provide long-term support for psychological stress injury for those directly or indirectly involved.

Run, Hide, Fight

Run

• Leave the area immediately, as fast as you can. Duck low and run, or crawl, paddle or otherwise get away. Put obstructions between you and the shooter(s).
• Continue to move away from the shooter, going from cover to cover.
• Follow your pre-established escape route.
• Leave your belongings. 
• Move across open areas strategically, for example when there is a pause in gunfire while the shooter is reloading.
• Some rifles have a 1,000-meter range. If you can hear gunfire, you can be shot. Keep moving away.
• Recognize the shooter may be following or tracking you. 
• If with a group:
  • Exhibit calmness, a sense of purpose, and control.
  • Let group members know you have a plan to get the group to safety.
  • Consider assigning roles, such as the lead person paying attention to the front, another person to the left, and another to the right.
• When you are in a safe place, contact emergency services.  

Hide

If leaving the situation is not an option:

• Hide silently in as safe a place as possible.
• The place should conceal you from sight—for example, behind a large boulder or large tree.
• The object of cover should be bulletproof. If possible, stay behind bulletproof cover.
• Avoid areas that trap you or restrict your options for movement.
• Be quiet. Mute or otherwise silence sound-producing devices like phones.
• Spread out from other individuals. 
• Do not move in a way that might cause you to be heard or seen. Do not peek out to see what is happening.
• If possible, contact emergency services.
  • This may involve calling the local emergency number. If you cannot speak to the emergency dispatcher, keep the line open and allow them to listen.
  • Email or text messages may also be an option if it is unsafe to speak.
  • Posting on social media may be ineffective, as law enforcement may not monitor social media.

Fight

As a last resort, if it is not possible to escape or hide:

• Aggressively, and with total commitment, attack the shooter(s). Attempt to incapacitate them. Use whatever improvised weapons you can. 
• If you are with a group, consider acting as a team.
• When the shooter(s) are incapacitated, contact emergency services. 

Guidelines

1. When running or otherwise leaving the scene, take others with you, but do not stay behind if others will not leave.
2. An unfamiliar voice may be an active shooter attempting to deceptively cause you to reveal yourself. Do not respond to voice direction unless you are sure it is from someone you can trust.
3. If a shooter enters your campsite or other group area (but is not actively shooting), comply with their instructions. Try to avoid provoking them—except if you decide to fight and attempt to overpower and incapacitate them.
4. If you have time and it is safe to do so, commit to memory details of the shooter, such as their height, weight, approximate age, skin color, clothing, and direction of travel, along with what they may have with them (such as weapons, ammunition, or explosive devices).
5. Gunfire may sound artificial. Assume that any popping sound is gunfire.
6. Violent attacks can involve not just a gun, but knives, other sharp objects, blunt objects, or explosives. Use these procedures for any violent encounter.
7. If possible, prevent others from entering an area where the active shooter may be.

Law Enforcement Response

1. Expect that law enforcement priorities are:
   1. Engage or contain active shooter(s) to stop life-threatening behavior
   2. Identify threats like improvised explosive devices
   3. Identify victims and help them get care
2. Law enforcement may be in uniform, or wearing ballistics vests, helmets and other tactical gear. They may be carrying handguns or long guns. 
3. When law enforcement arrives, they will first attempt to identify the shooter(s). Take these steps for your safety:
   1. Do not run at law enforcement.
   2. Do not make sudden movements.
   3. Do not shout, point, or wave your arms.
   4. Do not hold anything in your hands, such as a mobile phone, that could be mistaken for a weapon.
   5. Keep your hands empty and visible, with palms open.
   6. Follow law enforcement directions.
   7. Provide information on the situation; answer law enforcement questions.

Additional Resources

https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/active-shooter-safety-resources

https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/active_shooter_booklet.pdf

https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical-security/active-shooter-preparedness