What can you do in an active shooter situation?

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- The fatal shooting at Martin's last week was a reminder that a rampage shooting can happen anywhere. Local universities have plans in place for an active shooter and have advice if you ever find yourself in a life threatening situation.



Last week's supermarket shooting in Elkhart has left many in Michiana on edge.

 

"I think with that incident for us, it brought it home that it does happen and it can happen here," said Ken Baierl, Spokesman for Indiana University South Bend.

 

A training video on IUSB's website depicts a real-life scenario of a gunman opening fire in an office building.



According to the video, to survive an active shooter event, there are three things you can do - hide, run, fight.



"It used not be very clear what to do. Now we tell people hide, run, fight," said Baierl. "We're very clear now on what to do. It used to be you didn't talk about it much, now we talk about it."



A spokesperson at the University of Notre Dame says they have a comprehensive emergency plan to follow in the case of an active shooter. Both Notre Dame and IUSB run emergency training drills on campus every year.



"I think the best thing is to keep our students, faculty and staff informed and as up to date as possible on what to do if you're ever in a situation where there's an active shooter on campus," said Baierl.

 

Memorial Hospital has a similar protocol.



They say you should follow the four A's:

Accept your situation

Assess what your next move will be

Act - Exit the building, hide or fight

Alert authorities



"Unfortunately we've learned from these incidents and now we're better prepared if something should happen," said Baierl.



Lieutenant Matt Blank of the St. Joseph County Police says they often work and train with local businesses, universities and hospitals to give advice on how to improve their emergency plans.