Active Shooter Preparedness Training: What Good Programs Include

Active shooter preparedness training teaches employees to spot warning signs, make fast decisions during an attack using a simple model such as Run, Hide, Fight, and know what to do when police arrive and afterward. The active shooter training programs that work are built around your actual buildings, policies and people, combine short awareness sessions with practical drills, and are refreshed on a regular schedule.

What does active shooter preparedness training cover?

Most people picture the response options alone. A complete program goes further, because the minutes before and after an attack matter as much as the minutes during it.

Recognizing and reporting concerning behavior

Many attackers show observable warning behaviors before they act: threats, fixation on a grievance, interest in past attacks, or sudden changes in behavior. Employees should learn what to look for and, more importantly, exactly how to report it. Active shooter training only works if there is a team behind it that receives reports and acts on them, which is the job of a behavioral threat assessment team.

Response options during an attack

The Department of Homeland Security teaches Run, Hide, Fight. Another widely used model, Avoid, Deny, Defend, was developed by the ALERRT Center at Texas State University. Both say the same thing in different words: get away if you can, block and barricade if you cannot, and fight back only as a last resort when your life is in immediate danger.

The model matters less than consistency. Pick one, use it in every active shooter training session, and make sure your written emergency plan uses the same language.

When law enforcement arrives

The first officers on scene go straight toward the threat. They will not stop to help the wounded or give directions. Staff should know to keep their hands empty and visible, follow commands, avoid sudden movements toward officers, and move in the direction officers indicate.

Bleeding control and recovery

Uncontrolled bleeding is a leading cause of preventable death after traumatic injury, and the Stop the Bleed program teaches people to apply pressure, pack wounds and use tourniquets. Recovery training covers accountability (who is missing), family reunification, communication with employees and the media, and access to counseling.

Which active shooter training formats should you use?

No single format does everything. A strong program layers them over a year so people hear the message, think it through, and then practice it.

If you run exercises, FEMA’s Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) offers a free, widely used framework for planning them and writing an after action report.

How do you tailor training to your workplace?

The difference between forgettable active shooter training and a useful session is local detail. Before any active shooter training, a qualified consultant should walk your site and read your emergency plan. Then the content should answer questions like these:

• Which interior doors actually lock from the inside, and which are left propped open?
• How does a lockdown alert reach people in restrooms, warehouses, parking areas and remote offices?
• Who decides to call a lockdown, and can any employee do it without asking permission?
• What happens to visitors, contractors and customers who do not know the building?
• How will people with disabilities evacuate or shelter, and who is assigned to help them?
• Where do people go once they are out, and how do you account for them?

Different roles also need different depth. Front desk staff need to know how to trigger an alert and deny entry. Managers need to know how to account for their teams. Security officers and leadership need decision making practice. A one size session wastes time for some and leaves gaps for others.

What mistakes do organizations make?

Treating it as a one time event

A single annual active shooter training video checks a box but rarely changes behavior. Short refreshers, new hire onboarding and periodic drills keep the message alive.

Training without fixing the building

Telling people to lock the door does not help if the door has no lock. Good trainers note hardware, alerting and communication gaps they find and hand them back to you. A physical security assessment often runs alongside training for this reason.

Realism that causes harm

Unannounced drills with simulated gunfire, actors or blank rounds have caused real fear and injury. Most experienced trainers recommend announced, clearly communicated drills, an opt out for people with trauma histories, and support available afterward.

Skipping coordination with first responders

Invite local police and fire to review your plan, tour the site, and join an exercise. Give them current floor plans and know how they will get in.

How do you choose an active shooter trainer?

Experience as a police officer or soldier is valuable, but it is not the same as knowing how to teach adults in an office, hospital or warehouse. For active shooter training, look for a mix of tactical knowledge, emergency planning experience and teaching skill. Questions worth asking:

1. Will you review our emergency plan and walk our site before training?
2. Which response model do you teach, and will you align it with our written plan?
3. How do you handle employees who are anxious or have experienced violence?
4. What do we receive afterward: an attendance record, written findings, an after action report?
5. Can you train internal staff to deliver refreshers so we are not dependent on you?
6. Can you provide references from organizations like ours?

Professional certifications such as the ASIS CPP or PSP signal broader security knowledge. You can compare vetted trainers in our security training directory and see related specialists under workplace violence prevention.

Is active shooter training required by law?

There is no single federal law that requires private employers to run active shooter training. However, OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires employers to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm, and OSHA has cited it in workplace violence cases.

Some states go further. In California, SB 553 (Labor Code 6401.9) requires most employers to have a written workplace violence prevention plan, train employees on it, and keep a violent incident log. Active shooter training can be part of that program, but it does not replace the plan. Our guide to the workplace violence prevention plan under SB 553 explains the requirements. Schools, hospitals and government agencies often face their own state or accreditation rules, so check with counsel.

For budgeting, our workplace violence prevention cost guide breaks down training formats and consultant rates. CISA also publishes free active shooter preparedness resources, including a pocket card and planning guides, which make a good supplement to live training.