Another Workplace Shooting: Critical Strategies to Prepare for and Navigate the Nightmare

The latest workplace shooting in Manhattan puts workplace safety — and HR’s responsibilities — in the forefront. Again.

Hopefully, you never face a similar tragedy in your workplace, but unfortunately, workplace violence and deaths are on the rise, and employee safety is more important than ever.

This shooting is particularly poignant because many companies were affected, although just one was allegedly targeted. What’s more, the shooter wasn’t an employee, so there was no way employers could’ve seen signs of dangerous behavior beforehand.

Workplace Shooting Recap

As a recap: A shooter walked into a Manhattan office tower at 345 Park Avenue, brazenly carrying an AR-15-style rifle. He killed four people — an off-duty police officer, a security guard, a senior Blackstone executive and a real-estate firm employee — and injured many others. Most of the carnage was on the highly secured first floor. The shooter took an elevator up to another floor where he shot the last victim, then turned the gun on himself, leaving behind a suicide note. In it, he alleged he had had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease associated with head injuries. He allegedly blamed and targeted the NFL, which has offices in the Park Avenue building.

This tragedy serves as yet another reminder for HR professionals and their employers to prioritize:

• The development and implementation of emergency action plans, and
• Safety and security training for employees.

Feds Give Guidance: Who Does What in Crisis?

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has compiled active shooter guidance that can help employees stay safe in the event of a workplace shooting.

Preparing for and managing an active shooter situation requires a team effort. The feds outlined a strategic plan that divides responsibilities by department:

• HR’s responsibilities include: Conducting effective employee screening and background checks; creating a system to report signs of potentially violent behavior; prioritizing mental well-being and making counseling services available to employees; and developing an emergency action plan.
• Facility manager’s responsibilities include: Instituting access controls (keys, passcodes); distributing critical items – like floor plans, keys and personnel name/phone lists – to appropriate managers; assembling crisis kits containing radios, floor plans, staff rosters, staff emergency contact numbers, flashlights and first aid kits; and placing removable floor plans near entrances for emergency responders.
• Managers’ responsibilities include: Being familiar with and following the emergency action plan; remaining calm; locking and barricading doors; assisting with evacuations; and helping individuals with special needs.

Run, Hide, Fight or ABC

The guidance also covers “Run, Hide, Fight,” the recommended procedure for active shooter situations, which helps individuals determine the best course of action:

• Run: If there is an accessible escape path, quickly evacuate the premises.
• Hide: If evacuation isn’t possible, find a place to hide where the shooter is less likely to find you.
• Fight: As a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger, attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the shooter.

Alternatively, in this most recent shooting, victims in the high-rise’s Blackstone offices followed their version of Run, Hide, Fight: The company regularly holds active-shooter trainings for employees that reiterate the importance of ABC. It’s their shorthand that instructs people facing a threat to Avoid, Barricade and, as a last resort, Confront an assailant.

Prepared Employees for the Aftermath, Too

When it comes to safety and security training, an often overlooked area is what happens when help arrives.

In a crisis like a workplace shooting, most employees will be stressed or traumatized. So they need to know what to expect – long before the emergency happens.

In addition to following the DHS guidelines on training employees about active shooter safety, teach them what to expect when police arrive on the scene of a workplace shooting. Tell them that police may:

• Be wearing either regular uniforms or external bulletproof vests, Kevlar helmets and other tactical gear
• Be armed with rifles, shotguns and/or handguns
• Use pepper spray or tear gas to control the situation, and
• Shout commands and push people to the ground for their safety.

The first officers on the scene won’t stop to help the injured. And they won’t stop to answer questions. Their priority will be to contain the threat.

7 Things to Do When Danger is Eliminated

For these reasons, all employees need to know how to respond appropriately for their own safety. Here’s what everyone should be trained to do:

1. Remain calm, and follow the police officers’ instructions
2. Put down any items in their hands (i.e., bags, jackets)
3. Immediately raise their hands and spread their fingers
4. Keep their hands visible at all times
5. Avoid making quick movements toward officers and making physical contact with them
6. Avoid pointing, screaming and/or yelling, and
7. Avoid stopping to ask officers for help or direction when evacuating.

Once employees are in a safe location, they will likely be held there by police until the situation is under control. Officers will want to verify that everyone has been accounted for and will want to talk to witnesses. Employees should not leave until they have been instructed to do so by police.