Active Shooter. What do you all do? First one there goes in or do you wait for multiple SRT members to arrive before breech?

It's an ethical decision
We are encouraged to wait for a second unit to be on scene before entering but the reality is I am not going to sit there for 5 or 10 or however many minutes listening to the sound of gunfire
edit:
Not the same. but an example
I was pulling into a gas station last night near end of tour when the call came up on my screen of some fight involving clubs and multiple injuries came in from the apartment complex next door that used to be strictly old folks but in recent years has been turned into a dumping ground for people of all ages with developmental issues. To the point that I feel sorry for the few remaining oldsters who live there in what used to be a quiet facility
I'm literally next door, so I am pointed that way before dispatch even puts it over the air
I'm at the front door of the complex by the time dispatch is done garbling it out and there's some confusion as to what unit the problems at because the initial call shows one apartment but it supposedly happening at another
By the time I get to the apartment I'm met by a screaming older women who is demanding to know where the ambulance is because people inside her apartment are hurt
There's no one in her apartment
She heard Lionel Richie on the radio crying for help, she says
She admits to being schizo and off her meds but says she wont go voluntarily for a mental eval.
the responding ambulance was used to transport HER to the ER for a psych eval
The second and third units on scene were a full 5 minutes behind me, at least

Seemed to be one of those nights
I was driving down my own street earlier in the night when the call came to check on one of my neighbors because his kid hadn't heard from him
Turned out to be a probable stroke
Normally I'm driving to a scene for 15 or 20 minutes

All I am saying is that my backup is normally a long ways away at warp speed and you have to decide to go in or stay and wait for them based on what you think is right

We were told not to wait, go in aggressive

Without discussing TTPs too much, there has been a push towards the first officer on scene moving to the threat as soon as they arrive and not waiting unless they know another officer is pulling up right behind them.  I remember the old quad idea and thinking it wasn't much of an improvement over the "contain for SWAT" thinking that preceded it.  Waiting for four officers to arrive takes a long time, especially in areas with smaller agencies.  

This...
When every shot you hear inside is potentially someone dying, it's hard to sit outside and wait.
Plus..."Usually" these whack jobs off themselves at the first sign of resistance. (Po-Po shows up).
His bullet or mine. Doesn't matter to me, as long as he gets one...

Go in as soon as I get there.  Might be one of those "bad day to be a cop" situations, but I'm going in alone because even if you're waiting 30 seconds for another unit that's alot of lives that could be taken.

Single Officer response... no waiting... press the fight and confront.

Off duty as well, I would secure my family and I am not letting anyone innocent die

First ad hoc team of 4-5 patrol goes in.  No single officer stuff here, but for something like that you'd get enough for a team within seconds of the call going out and over a hundred within minutes.  SWAT takes a long time to get their stuff together.

I like that.  

I wish people knew our side of the story. We had a craig's list robbery gang. One of my guys stopped them, the public outcry was loud, not as bad as the recent ones. Good kid, under 30, pensioned out... could not deal with it.

Single man entry unless there is immediate backup arriving.

This debate is about 50/50 among officers.

Some believe you should wait for backup arrives. Some believe you go in as soon as you arrive and go in alone. I know the ALERRT training here in TX teaches you to wait for a second officer to arrive before entering during an active shooter.

I'll go in as soon as I arrive. EVERY SINGLE SECOND COUNTS. I remember reading some article about an active shooting call somewhere in the U.S. I can't remember where but the officers were waiting outside the building so they can assemble a team of 3-4 to arrive before entering. While they were waiting, the shooter was actively killing students. I think it took the officers close to a minute to assemble before entering.

We were told to end the threat, which is one reason I carry an AR and a plate carrier with extra mags and a medkit.

If I hear gunfire, I'm going towards it. Hopefully I'll have some progress in determining a location prior to making contact.

Not SRT... but you arrive and go, no waiting.

We go in single officer. But as far as off duty, we did force on force with this situation as a scenario... the number of officers who shot the plain clothes/off duty role player were staggering. I believe up to 75 and 80% in some classes. Im not saying it is going to keep me from going in, but I did put an old BDU to with police on the back and an embroidered badge on it in my go bag. If I have the opportunity im getting to it before I go in. I do nobody any good as a casualty of friendly fire

SRT isnt making it to an active shooter. Patrol guys are handling that. Can't speak for others but I'm going in on my own. End it as soon as possible

SRT is gonna be 30-60 minutes out around here. If I'm working patrol with another SRT guy then we can link up inside but neither one is going to wait for the other while people are being shot.

This but the likelihood of it being SRT/SWAT etc is gonna be slim, even in cities with full time teams. That's why the response protocol has gone to training EVERYONE in active shooter response (since Columbine).

Our entire county (all agencies) train on Active Shooter yearly and together so that the first 2-4 people on scene can go in being trained and equipped the same way. Gonna be about 30 seconds to get several people on scene.

J-

Ours is first on, first in.  However, we teach team movement and tactics due to the high number of officers and departments close in proximity.

Swat shows up when it's over. First on scene eliminates the threat. Why wait for backup when innocent lives are being taken. Your job is to protect and serve. If you want to wait, get another job.  I'd violate policy to save someone's life.
That's my .02.

The only time I can see a full SRT call out situation stemming from an active shooter is if patrol officers force the shooter to flee into a room and barricade himself in with hostages. That's assuming the shooter changes his tactics from killing everyone to taking hostages. As everyone else has stated, first officers on scene going in as soon as they get there. A lot depends on size of agency, where I work, there will be no shortage of officers for something like this.~700 sworn officers.So as I'm grabbing rifle and chest rig out of trunk, I'll have more guys arriving to help. May be worth waiting a few seconds to go in 4 deep versus 4 officers going in uncoordinated. Guys in smaller agencies or rural areas, they will be going alone. I know counties around me that have 20+ min waits for backup. Bad day at work no matter what.

pre-Colombine, wait and wait, post-Colombine need to respond immediately.

Go Offensive, duh.

Around here the practice has changed a few times.

Old: Contain and call a team.

Later: Form an ad hoc team with the first four on scene.

Now: Go offensive, press the attack. Only wait if you see the second unit arriving on scene.

Off duty will not enter single until:
Well identified with a plainly marked raid vest or similar.
Dispatch has been advised of your intent.

The practice has changed over the years.  It used to be you waited until you had at least 3 before going in, or 4 if the 4th was really close by.

Now all the training I hear of and read about is that the first officer on scene goes in as long as the situation is still dynamic.

Immediate entry and press the fight.


What we're seeing time and time again is that active shooters are typically offing themselves when presented LE confrontation. Either that or barricade themselves into a room (then off themselves). But typically when cornered they decide to take the easy way out. (At least that's what we've been seeing.)


Worse case scenario you lose an officer and the threat stays active. Second worse case scenario is he barricades himself in a room with a lot of hostages.  The latter is still probably better then him continuing the spree because at that point you have containment + possibility of negotiations + hostage rescue tactics at work.


Pre Columbine it was wait for three but you try that crap now and your done in LE, at least, around here. On average someone dies what, every 3 seconds? Every gunshot you hear is a body. Congrats you stood outside with guns, ammo, and body armor while a bunch of innocents got killed.  Its hard to fault the guys at Columbine because thats what they were trained to do. But lets be real, if any of those officers had kids in there I wonder if they'd have stood outside and waited for backup VS making entry.

With a known active shooter you go in and handle business.  If it's an unknown or possible hostage situation it's a different story.  If when you pull up shots are being fired you find and stop the threat.