ATLANTA — Wednesday's mass shooting in Maine has many of us wondering what we would do if we found ourselves in a similar situation.
Sgt. Benjamin Griggs is a team leader with South Metro SWAT, which helps four law enforcement agencies and one school district with potentially dangerous calls.
“Typically, what we teach to civilians is run, hide, fight," Griggs said.
He said awareness is essential whenever you go out, so make sure you know where the exits are.
“We would want you to evacuate the situation, run away, get away as fast as you can, even if the people you're with don't want to go," Griggs said. "You need to go to protect your life.”
If you can't run, you'll want to hide somewhere the shooter can't see you and where you'd have protection from bullets, Griggs said.
“If it was this room here with all this glass, and we’re several stories up and probably unable to get out because it’s too high, I’d go maybe in this room here. It’s a fixed solid wood door, which offers us some sort of barrier," Griggs said.
Griggs said when you hide, you’ll want to make it difficult for an active shooter to get to you. Lock the door if it has one, then put furniture in front of it.
The last resort is to fight back. Griggs said you can find improvised weapons in most places, such as scissors or pens.
“It's really just acting aggressively towards the suspect to protect yourself, and hopefully you're going to neutralize or incapacitate the suspect," Griggs said.
Finally, be aware of your noise signature.
“You want to try and silence the radios, the TV, maybe even your cell phone. Put it on do not disturb or vibrate," Griggs said. "Having said that about the cell phone, if you can use your cell phone, you want to call 911. If you can't talk right then because the suspect is near your location, you can leave the line open so dispatch can listen."
Call 911 as soon as possible and give a full description of the suspect.
"If you can get really detailed with sex, height, weight, race, clothing, description, that's great for responding law enforcement. Also, provide the location of the suspect, if you know it and maybe, perhaps, possibly if you know how many people are injured or who is inside the building," Griggs said.
The worst thing to do in an active shooter situation is to freeze up, Griggs added.
"Some people get paralyzed with fear and fright, and they freeze and people with them just stay with them because it's their loved one and understandable, but if you can get away, we encourage you to get away," Griggs said.
You're also encouraged to learn first aid skills to help others and seek help if you've been in a traumatic situation.