Active shooter training gains interest in Eastern Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS - Chad Shover, gun in hand, roamed the hall of Linn Area Community Credit Union offices on Blairs Ferry Road NE.

Moving from office to office, Shover picked off his victims as they hid under their desks, awaiting their fate. Less than three minutes after the first 'shot” rang out, Shover had claimed approximately 30 victims.

Fortunately, Shover is a Linn County Sheriff's Office deputy and the firearm he was carrying only fires blanks.

The exercise was designed to show how 'locking down” can often be a poor response to an active shooter situation.

'You're just waiting to be killed, as opposed to doing something to improve your survivability chances,” said Maj. Doug Riniker, also with the sheriff's office.

Riniker's point was underscored in two subsequent scenarios.

During those, the participants - credit union employees taking part in optional company training - could run out of the building or actively resist the shooter by throwing tennis balls at him. In the latter scenario, the number of people shot was reduced to less than a handful.

The training is known as ALICE - Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate.

Designed with lessons learned from past active shooter incidents, like those at Columbine High School or Virginia Tech, the training is endorsed by the Office of Homeland Security.

It is meant to present alternatives to simply locking down in the case of a shooter.

'What we're trying to do is give you a wide array of options,” Riniker told the participants at last Thursday's training.

BUSINESS INTEREST

Riniker said the training is designed for schools, and a majority of the training sessions over the past three years has been at rural schools in the county.

But, Riniker said, there has been a growing interest in the training from businesses.

He estimates the sheriff's office has done training sessions at five businesses over the last two years, but that he and other deputies will be doing five training sessions at businesses within the next month.

Those interested in receiving the training should call the Linn County Sheriff's Office at (319) 892-6100. The training is free.

Jenny Lorenz, president and CEO of the Linn Area Community Credit Union, said employees had asked about training for active shooters, given recent incidents in Orlando, Fla., and San Bernardino, Calif.

'Our goal, when it's all said and done, ... we want to make sure our employees do what they need to do to be safe,” Lorenz said.

Though designed for schools, Riniker said the ALICE training has a practical application for virtually anywhere people gather. A central tenet of the program is situational awareness and being able to act if a shooting takes place. He said the training is adapted, depending who is being trained, whether it be youngsters at an elementary school or adults at a credit union.

'It's about giving people choices,” he said.

WHAT TO DO

One point stressed during the training is that it is likely to take police five to six minutes, at least, to respond to an active shooter.

During that time, a shooter - who typically expects to be killed by police or to kill himself - can do a lot of damage, the instructors said.

'What you guys do in those five to six minutes could save your lives or your co-workers' lives,” said Sgt. Matt Pavelka, one of the instructors.

Aside from advising against locking down - while conceding that sometimes is the only option - the instructors discussed the importance of alerting authorities, providing good information to co-workers and first responders, countering the shooter through barricades, running and distracting or attacking the shooter and evacuating where the shooting is taking place.

'When faced with danger, you must do something,” Pavelka said.

Matt Bailey, who completed the training Thursday, had a take-away.

'Doing anything,” he said, 'dramatically increased the odds you were going to be fine.”