What to Do in an Active Shooter Situation (2026)

Quick answer: The FBI-endorsed protocol is Run, Hide, Fight — in that order. Evacuate if you can. If you can't, barricade yourself in a lockable room, silence your phone, and call 911 when safe to speak. Fight only as a last resort, using whatever is at hand. After the event, hands up and fingers spread when law enforcement arrives.

Nobody walks into a grocery store or office building expecting to need a survival plan. But the FBI's active shooter statistics document dozens of incidents in the US every year, across venues as ordinary as parking lots and schools. The gap between knowing the protocol and having actually thought it through is where people freeze. Don't let that be you.

Can you recognize warning signs before an attack?

You can't reliably profile a shooter by appearance alone. The FBI's research consistently shows there is no single demographic or physical profile that predicts violence. What you can watch for are behavioral changes over time.

According to FEMA's Security Awareness for Soft Targets and Crowded Places, warning signs that warrant reporting include:

• Increasingly erratic, unsafe, or aggressive behavior
• Hostile statements framing others as responsible for personal failures
• Drug or alcohol abuse combined with escalating anger
• Sudden withdrawal from friends, colleagues, or family
• Dramatic changes in work performance or daily routine
• Financial or legal crisis coinciding with stated grievances
• Observable statements about retaliation or "getting even"

These signs don't point to a specific person becoming violent. They point to someone in enough distress that a conversation with HR, a counselor, or law enforcement is warranted. The DHS "See Something, Say Something" program exists precisely because early reporting has interrupted planned attacks. Reporting a concern is not an accusation; it's a referral.

Most people who commit these attacks have displayed recognizable warning signs beforehand. The problem isn't that the signs were invisible; it's that people around them talked themselves out of reporting. Don't do that.

Run, Hide, Fight: what each step actually means

The DHS and FBI both endorse Run, Hide, Fight as the civilian response framework. The order matters. You run first because distance is the most effective protection available. You hide only when running isn't possible. You fight only when both previous options are exhausted and your life is in immediate danger.

Run

The moment you identify gunfire or a confirmed threat, move toward the nearest exit you already know about. This is why mental noting of exits when you enter a building matters. You don't have time to look for them under stress.

Leave your belongings. Don't wait for others who won't move; try to bring them, but don't delay your evacuation for someone who refuses. Keep moving until you have put distance and hard cover (masonry walls, concrete pillars, engine blocks) between you and the threat. Once you're clear, call 911 and don't assume someone else has. Tell them: location, number of shooters if known, description, and where they were last seen.

Keep your hands visible as you exit and encounter law enforcement. Officers arriving on scene can't immediately distinguish bystanders from the threat. Empty hands, fingers spread, no sudden movements.

Hide

If you can't evacuate, find a room with a lockable door. Lock it. If there's no lock, barricade with whatever is heaviest and most awkward to move: heavy furniture against the door handle, not just pushed against the door. Turn off the lights. Silence your phone completely, not just vibrate. Get to the wall farthest from the door and lowest to the floor.

Call 911 if you can do so quietly. If you're in a position where speaking would give away your location, stay on the line and let the dispatcher listen. Don't open the door in response to a voice or a knock unless you have confirmed through independent means that law enforcement has cleared the area. According to DHS guidance, some shooters knock or call out to draw occupants into the open.

Fight

Fight is a last resort, not a preference. If the shooter enters the space you're in and there is no other option, commit fully. DHS recommends improvised weapons: fire extinguishers, chairs, laptops, anything that can disrupt the shooter's ability to aim or act. Multiple people acting simultaneously are significantly harder to stop than one person acting alone. Noise, movement, and aggression are your tools here.

I went through an ALICE training session at a Denver office building in January 2025. The instructor, a retired Denver PD officer, made one point that stuck: most people who freeze do so because they've never mentally rehearsed any response at all. The drill itself, imperfect as it is in a conference room, broke that paralysis. If your workplace or school offers this training, take it. It's about two hours and the discomfort is worth it.

What to do if someone near you is injured

If you're in a secured hiding position and someone nearby is injured, your first job is confirming the threat isn't still present. Don't break your cover in response to a voice calling for help until you are reasonably certain the area is clear; attackers have used exactly this tactic.

If it is safe to render aid and someone is bleeding severely, the most important intervention you can make is tourniquet application above the wound on a limb. The American College of Surgeons' Stop the Bleed program teaches this in a 90-minute course and is offered through hospitals, fire departments, and schools nationwide. Take it before you need it. Improperly applied tourniquets cause additional injury; proper ones can keep a person alive until EMS arrives.

For wounds where a tourniquet doesn't apply (torso or neck), apply firm direct pressure with the cleanest material available and maintain it. Always do a visual check for anyone who may have been hit and doesn't realize it; adrenaline masks pain and people sometimes don't register a wound until they're going into shock.

What to do when law enforcement arrives

The first officers through the door are going into an unknown-shooter scenario. They will be moving fast and they will be treating everyone as a potential threat until proven otherwise. Don't make their job harder.

Raise your hands immediately. Spread your fingers. Drop anything you're holding. Don't reach for a phone, don't reach for an ID, don't run toward them. Follow their instructions exactly and don't ask questions. They'll direct you to a safe area and take your information once the threat is contained. Their primary task is neutralizing the threat; your debrief comes after.

How to prepare before an incident

Preparation is mostly free and takes about ten minutes at each new venue you enter. Note the two nearest exits when you walk in. Note one potential hiding position with a lockable or barricadable door. Know where your phone is and that it's charged. That's 80 percent of situational awareness for most locations.

Beyond that:

• Sign up for your workplace or local government's emergency alert system. Most cities and counties run text-based alert programs.
• Complete a Stop the Bleed course so you can render effective first aid under stress. Find a class here.
• If your employer offers active shooter training (ALICE, AVERT, or similar), attend it. The mental rehearsal matters more than the specific methodology.
• Walk through the age-appropriate conversation with your kids about what to do at school. They've likely done drills; knowing what you expect of them at home connects the dots.

Does body armor make a difference for civilians?

It can. The honest framing is that body armor is one layer of a layered approach, not a substitute for the Run, Hide, Fight protocol. You run away from a threat whether you're wearing armor or not. Armor reduces injury severity if you can't get clear.

For most people, the most practical daily-carry option is either a concealable soft armor vest or a ballistic backpack insert. Soft armor rated NIJ Listed under 0101.06 at Level IIIA stops handgun rounds up to and including .44 Magnum and 9mm at standard velocities. It doesn't stop rifle-caliber rounds. The Spartan Armor Systems DL Concealed Plate Carrier with IIIA soft armor is a practical option for concealed daily wear. The concealable vests from BulletSafe are also NIJ Listed at Level IIIA and priced for civilians rather than agencies.

Ballistic backpack inserts are worth understanding honestly. A Level IIIA soft panel inserted in a backpack protects your back while you're running. It's not a vest; it doesn't wrap around you. Skip the cheap no-name panels flooding Amazon from unverifiable sources; those products regularly lack any NIJ testing documentation. Brands like TuffyPacks offer panels in documented sizes (typically 10"x12" and 11"x14") with stated ballistic protection levels. Guard Dog Security and BulletBlocker make ballistic-rated bag systems tested to NIJ standards.

One thing worth knowing about soft armor for daily civilian wear: heat and humidity degrade the ballistic-resistant fibers in UHMWPE and Dyneema panels faster than most manufacturers disclose. If you're wearing a concealable vest daily in a warm climate, inspect it annually and follow the manufacturer's replacement schedule, which is typically 5 years. A panel that looks fine on the outside may have lost meaningful ballistic performance. Bulletproof Zone stocks replacement soft panels separately from carriers for this reason.

If you want to understand the NIJ threat-level system, the context around why incidents happen and how threat levels map to real-world weapons, start with the NIJ threat-level guides before buying anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Run, Hide, Fight protocol?

Run, Hide, Fight is the federal response framework endorsed by DHS and the FBI for civilian active-shooter situations. Run means evacuate immediately if you can reach an exit safely. Hide means barricade yourself in a secured room if you can't escape. Fight means use improvised weapons and overwhelming aggression against the shooter only when no other option exists and your life is in immediate danger.

Should you run in a zig-zag pattern during an active shooter event?

No. Neither FEMA, DHS, nor the FBI recommends zig-zag running as an active-shooter survival tactic. The guidance is to run directly for cover or an exit as quickly as possible, staying low where appropriate. Slowing down or changing direction unpredictably works against your primary goal, which is to maximize distance from the threat in the shortest time.

What should you do when police arrive at an active shooter scene?

Raise your hands immediately, spread your fingers, and drop anything you're holding. Do not run toward officers, do not reach for a phone or ID, and follow instructions exactly without questions or resistance. Officers are operating in a threat environment and cannot immediately distinguish bystanders from suspects. Compliance and stillness are how you demonstrate you're not a threat.

Can body armor protect you in an active shooter situation?

Body armor rated NIJ Listed under 0101.06 at Level IIIA will stop handgun rounds including 9mm, .40 S&W, and .44 Magnum at standard velocities. It will not stop rifle-caliber rounds such as 5.56 or .308 without a hard armor plate rated at NIJ Level III or IV (RF1 or RF3 under the new 0101.07 framework). Armor is one layer of preparation, not a substitute for evacuation.

How do you barricade a door without a lock?

Push the heaviest available furniture against the door's hinge side, not just flat against the door panel. A door barricaded at the handle point is more effective than one with weight against the center. Filing cabinets, heavy desks, and stacked chairs braced at an angle create the most resistance. The goal is buying time, not creating an impassable barrier.

Is it safe to apply a tourniquet to someone injured in a shooting?

Yes, if you have Stop the Bleed training or equivalent instruction. Applied correctly, a tourniquet is the most effective intervention for severe limb bleeding and has a well-documented record of saving lives. Applied incorrectly, it can cause nerve damage or fail to stop the bleeding. The American College of Surgeons offers 90-minute Stop the Bleed courses through hospitals and fire departments nationwide; completion of this training is strongly recommended before you need the skill.

What are the warning signs of a potential active shooter?

The FBI and FEMA identify behavioral indicators rather than physical ones: escalating aggression or erratic behavior, expressed grievances combined with statements of retaliation, sudden social withdrawal, and significant personal crises (legal, financial, relational) paired with visible anger. Appearance alone is not a predictor. If you observe a pattern of these behaviors in someone you know, report to HR, a mental health professional, or law enforcement through the DHS "See Something, Say Something" program.

Key takeaways:

• Run first, hide second, fight only as a last resort. The order is the protocol.
• Mental rehearsal matters: note exits and one hiding spot every time you enter a new building.
• Keep your hands visible and empty when law enforcement arrives; follow instructions without delay or questions.
• Stop the Bleed training is 90 minutes and can save a life; get it before you need it.
• Soft armor rated NIJ Listed IIIA stops handgun threats but not rifle rounds. It's one layer, not a complete solution.

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or professional emergency-response advice. Active shooter response guidance changes as law enforcement research evolves. Consult your local law enforcement agency, employer emergency plans, and certified training programs (ALICE, AVERT, Stop the Bleed) for current, location-specific guidance. Bulletproof Zone makes no claim that body armor will provide complete protection in any scenario; no body armor is bullet-resistant against all threat types.

Product specifications referenced in this article are based on each manufacturer's stated specifications and NIJ compliance testing documentation at time of publication. Bulletproof Zone is a multi-brand retailer; product availability and configurations may change. Verify current product details on the relevant product page before purchase. Always verify NIJ compliance status at https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/equipment-and-technology/body-armor/ballistic-resistant-armor before relying on any ballistic protection product.