Is Run Hide Fight The Best Response For School Shootings?

Is ‘Run, Hide, Fight’ our most effective option? Students at Michigan State University were sent a text during the school shooting there this month encouraging them to follow that method, Justin Klawans reports for The Week.

Some experts criticize the method saying that method is based on outdated information. “Run, Hide, Fight,” along with similar state-based training, has proven effective in the past.

Purdue University released a study that argued running was a potential victim’s best bet.

“We find that the number of casualties is higher in situations like Columbine when more people try to hide instead of run,” Eric Dietz, director of the Purdue Homeland Security Institute, said in the Purdue study.

The ALICE program, an alternative, gives five steps for escaping a shooting: Alert others of the danger, lockdown and barricade the room if necessary, inform law enforcement of the incident if possible, counter the shooter by creating distractions, and evacuate when safe to do so.