RUN, HIDE, FIGHT protocol

RUN: Evacuate If Possible

  • If there is considerable distance between you and the gunfire/armed person, quickly move away from the sound of the gunfire/armed person. If the gunfire/armed person is in your building and it is safe to do so, run out of the building and move far away until you are in a secure place to hide.
  • Leave your belongings behind.
  • Keep your hands visible to law enforcement.
  • Take others with you, but do not stay behind because others will not go.
  • Call 911 when it is safe to do so. Do not assume that someone else has reported the incident. The information that you are able to provide law enforcement may be critical, e.g. number of shooters, physical description and identification, number and type(s) of weapons, and location of the shooter.

HIDE: Hide silently in as safe a place as possible

  • If the shooter is in close proximity and you cannot evacuate safely, hide in an area out of the armed person’s view.
  • Choose a hiding place with thicker walls and fewer windows, if possible.
  • Lock doors and barricade with furniture, if possible.
  • Turn off lights
  • Silence phones and turn off other electronics.
  • Close windows, shades and blinds, and avoid being seen from outside the room, if possible.
  • If you are outdoors and cannot run safely, find a place to hide that will provide protection from gunfire such as a brick wall, large trees or buildings.
  • Remain in place until you receive an “all clear” signal from Rave.

FIGHT: Take action to disrupt or incapacitate the shooter

  • As a last resort, fight. If you cannot evacuate or hide safely and only when your life is in imminent danger, take action.
  • Attempt to incapacitate or disrupt the actions of the shooter.
  • Act with physical aggression toward the shooter.
  • Use items in your area such as fire extinguishers or chairs.
  • Throw items at the shooter if possible.
  • Call 911 when it is safe to do so.

 

Lockdown or Secure in place

In certain situations, likely involving an immediate physical threat on campus, College officials may direct you to lockdown or secure in place.
A lockdown may be instructed during situations such as the presence of a hostile or armed intruder on campus. A lockdown requires locking doors, windows, and barricading oneself to block entry to a campus facility, a classroom, or to an office suite.  The purpose of a secure in place is to create a secure physical location where a threat may be physically prevented to entering spaces – to lock down the campus and secure community members in place.  This also facilitates law enforcement activity.  When it is necessary to secure in place, you should:

  • Remain calm
  • If you are outside, seek cover in the nearest unlocked building. Do not wait until you see the danger to seek shelter. Resist the urge to go outside and “check it out.”
  • If the buildings nearest to you have locked exterior doors, continue moving away from the danger and seek cover. Move to another building or leave campus if it is safe to do so.
  • Once inside, find an interior room and lock or barricade the doors.
  • Turn off lights, silence phones, close blinds, and move away from windows. This avoids creating indicators that the intruder may see or hear to detect people.
  • Await further instructions.

Do not leave until an “all clear” is received.

Once in a secure space, the space needs to remain secure. If there are individuals outside the secured door that seek to enter, they may endanger you and others. Use good judgment.

In an emergency, the Conn community will receive instructions through text messages and email. The College website will also be used to explain what actions our community should take. Remember, stay calm, always use good judgment, and do not take unnecessary risks. Human safety is always the highest priority. There are exceptions to all guidance and prescribed directions.

 

Immediately after an incident:

  • Wait for local law enforcement officers to assist you out of the building, if inside.
  • When law enforcement arrives, students and employees must display empty hands with open palms.