FBI explains 2 ways approach to active shooters has changed since Columbine


12 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — An FBI agent armed with a 9 mm handgun burst into a room full of reporters shouting, "It's payback time! Everyone dies!" during an active shooter exercise Monday.

Jim Olson, the agency's principal firearms instructor, squeezed off 10 rounds from a simulator gun that shoots plastic bullets at three targets in about 2.5 seconds.

"That's a demonstration just to give you a little bit of a feel for how quickly something like this can happen," he said.

Active-shooter incidents around the country — 250 from 2000 to 2017 — have heightened the public's awareness about protecting themselves and have changed law enforcement's approach to dealing with the bad guys.

"It is a huge problem in that it is oftentimes hard to predict," said Eric Barnhart, FBI special agent in charge in Salt Lake City. He said its hard to separate someone expressing anger or frustration from someone planning an attack, he said.

'Seconds mean lives'

Barnhart said law enforcement's tactics for dealing with an active shooter have evolved since the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.

Back then, the idea was to mobilize a large police presence before entering a building. Now an officer or agent arriving on the scene is expected to go in, even alone, to "mitigate the threat and to neutralize the shooter," he said.

"We now know that seconds means lives," Barnhart said, noting the officer has a 50 percent chance of being wounded or killed based on past shootings.

Olson, a 20-year veteran in the Salt Lake office, said the possibility of being shot comes with the territory.

"It doesn't really change anything for me and I would say for 99.9 percent of law enforcement officers. That's really our deal with society. That's part of the responsibility that we have of wearing the badge," he said.

'Run, hide, fight'

Olson also said the potential targets of an active shooter shouldn't act like victims. The FBI advocates a "run, hide, fight" approach.

The first option is to run from the threat immediately if the direction of the shooting is known and there's a safe avenue of escape, he said. Next would be to find a place to hide to avoid the gunfire, he said. At the same time, he said, a person should prepare to fight.

In a classroom, a chair or flagpole or scissors could become a weapon, Olson said.

"Don't allow yourself to die on someone else's terms. Make a conscious decision to change the dynamic of what it is that you are witnessing, of what it is that you are a part of," he said.

Olson also demonstrated how to jam a door with a battery or a quarter by wedging it between the door and the door jamb. Shooters usually move on from doors they can't easily open, he said.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahEducation
Dennis Romboy
Dennis Romboy is an editor and reporter for the Deseret News. He has covered a variety of beats over the years, including state and local government, social issues and courts. A Utah native, Romboy earned a degree in journalism from the University of Utah. He enjoys cycling, snowboarding and running.

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast