What are the three most important words in the English language?
Inarguably: “I love you.” Or if you live by railroad tracks: Stop. Look. Listen.
And (unfortunately) because of the times in which we live: Hide. Run. Fight.
Those last three words were emphasized at a recent City Hall presentation titled “Surviving an Active Shooter,” by Sgt. Chris Kimble of the Newport Beach Police Department.
If “knowledge is power,” then understanding that it can happen here and learning what one can do to survive can make an individual feel empowered, Kimble underscored.
Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill, who co-organized the evening, said, “We talk about it, but too many just don’t want to learn about it. This presentation is like insurance, you just hope you never have to use it.”
Although Newport Beach is a safe city, “It can happen here; we are not free from things that happen in the world,” Sgt. Kimble said.
That there were two attempted armed robberies in Fashion Island recently by individuals not from here is proof of Newport’s attraction and connection by both reputation and freeway to other environments.
What is an active shooter? Kimble defined them as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area, typically through the use of firearms.”
Victims are selected at random, the event is unpredictable and evolves quickly, and law enforcement is usually required to end an active shooter situation.
There’s a two-word phrase that is applicable here, as well, coined by Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts: Be Prepared!
“Train your mind,” Kimble advises. “Ask yourself, ‘What am I going to do?’”
He suggests that when you enter a location, take 15-20 seconds to survey the area; check for exits or other escape routes; and locate suitable barriers if you can’t escape.
Succinctly… “Run if Possible.”
Have an escape route and plan in mind, leave your belongings behind, and keep your hands visible (especially when law enforcement arrives).
Hide if escape is not possible. Hide in an area out of the shooter’s view, block entry to your hiding place, and lock all the doors and silence your cell phone.
Fight only as a last resort. Fight only when your life is in imminent danger. Attempt to incapacitate the shooter and act with physical aggression (by throwing items at the shooter).
When law enforcement arrives (which in Newport Beach on average for Priority One 911 calls is just over three minutes 20 seconds) remain calm; put down any items in your hands; raise your hands, keeping them visible with spread fingers; avoid quick movements toward officers; avoid posting, screaming or yelling; do not stop to ask officers for help.
In addition, type “Surviving an Active Shooter” in the online search bar of your computer and you can read instructional postings by the FBI, the U.S. Army and the Department of Homeland Security, among others.
A recent FBI study of “active shooter incidents” reports that “mass public shootings have greatly increased in recent years.
Scott A. Bonn, PhD, in an article posted in “Psychology Today” in 2022, stated that “Mass shooters are often portrayed as mentally unhinged individuals who simply ‘snap’ and engage in a killing rampage. Perpetrators are likely to be angry, vengeful individuals who seek retribution for a perceived harm by some person, group or individual.”
He adds that “Public mass shootings are generally premeditated and often well planned in advance of their commission.”
Dr. Bonn contends that there are “powerful, divisive and negative social forces that fuel the increase in mass public shootings.”
He identifies some of these factors as “financial and healthcare fears; a decline in the belief in the American dream; distrust of government, racism, xenophobia, religious and gender biases, hate, domestic terrorism and near constant war since 2001.”
Exactly when a mass shooter may explode in violence is unpredictable, but by observing behaviors and the communications of individuals, it becomes possible to alert family, friends and authorities to a potential threat. However, getting involved is both a sensitive and major decision one must make.
“Our city and specifically our Police Department pride ourselves on creating a safe environment in our city,” Mayor O’Neill concluded, while Police Chief Joe Cartwright added, “Our officers are highly invested in training and real-world rapid response. By providing this type of training to the public, the Newport /beach Police Department is committed to ensuring our community is also educated and prepared.”
To that end, aware and communicative citizens play an extraordinarily important part in that partnership.
