Staying safe in an active shooter situation

MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- There were two mass shootings in the last week. One was at the Navy Yard in Washington DC and the other was at a mall in Nairobi, Kenya. We talked one on one with a national security specialist about what you should do if you were in a mall and someone opened fire.

Security specialist, Edward Becher, owner of Center for Protection, Security, and Personal Safety says there is no such thing as a "safe place."

“If you look at all the active shooter incidents we’ve had here in the United States, there was not any intelligence involved, there was no forewarning that it was going to occur,” he said.

Becher says if someone opens fire in a mall while you are shopping and you cannot get out - hide.

“Find somewhere safe to hide, barricade your self into that spot, a restroom or whatever the case may be.”

To parents with small children he says, “If you have to drag them behind you, pick them up and carry them, whatever you have to do. In an emergency like that, other people are going to be picking up your children with you, let them help.”

And he says call 9-1-1 as soon as possible.

“People need to understand, that if their call doesn’t go through keep trying. The more information that dispatchers can get the more they can pass on to the responding units.”

As for mall security, he says in an active shooter situation, security is trained to do two things- observe and report.

Becher emphasized the importance of staying calm, if you are held hostage, do not panic, he says most hostages are rescued alive. 

“Cooperate the best you can, don’t try to takeover the situation.”