Did you know most active shooters won’t pursue people behind locked or barricaded doors?
An active shooter’s goal is usually to kill as many people as possible in the shortest period of time. That’s why they might choose a crowded venue or office as their target—they aim to shoot everyone in sight. Their goal is quantity based, and they want to be quick. By delaying their ability to find individuals to target, such as being behind a locked door, they’ll most likely move on.
You’ve probably seen this in action before. School lockdown drills use this method. By locking the door, staying out of sight from the door and windows, and remaining silent, the students and staff are making the shooter’s goal harder to attain.
If you can’t run away from the situation immediately, hiding is your next best option. The best thing you can do is make it time-consuming to find you. So, you need to be far away, behind a locked or barricaded door, or in a hiding place that requires extensive searching.
Knowing how to barricade a door could save your life! Here’s how to barricade different types of doors.
Doors without locks:
Inward opening doors – A desk or other heavy furniture can be lined up to create an immovable brace or wedge. A chair is especially useful in creating a wedge underneath the doorknob.
Outward opening doors – There are different methods depending on the type of door. If the door only has a knob or handle, secure it with an extension cord, necktie, or belt, and tie it to a nearby heavy object. A door with a hinge at the top should have the hinge wrapped with a belt so it can’t open. A set of double doors can be tied with an extension cord or belt around the handles. And if all else fails, you can pile heavy furniture in the doorway to create obstacles if the shooter does try to enter the room.
Doors with locks:
Lock the door and stay out of sight of windows, turn off all lights, and remain silent. For added safety or peace of mind, you can barricade the door with the previous methods. If the shooter does pursue you, your barricade will give you time to think about how to attack. Read our article about attacking and improvised weapons.
Be Prepared to Act with Active Shooter Training
The last thing you want to be doing during an active shooting event is Googling “how to barricade a door.” Active shooter training teaches your staff what to do during an active shooter event and how to use the information they learned. TPOP’s Think and Survive course covers recognizing workplace violence, violent behavioral indicators, gunfire recognition, response to injury, and more. Created for retention and recall, your employees can feel confident and prepared to face any type of workplace violence.
Let’s talk about the training needs for your company today.