Active Shooter Safety Resources

An active shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area, and recent active shooter incidents have underscored the need for a coordinated response by law enforcement and others to save lives. The FBI is committed to working with its partners to protect schools, workplaces, houses of worship, transportation centers, other public gathering sites, and communities. 

Although local and state law enforcement agencies are virtually always the first ones on the scene, the FBI has played a large role in supporting the response to every major incident in recent years and has much to offer in terms of capacity, expertise, specialized capabilities, training, and resources before and after an incident occurs. The successful prevention of these active shooter incidents lies with a wide range of public and private entities all working together.

To that end, the FBI provides operational, behaviorally-based threat assessment and threat management services to help detect and prevent acts of targeted violence, helping academic, mental health, business, community, law enforcement, and government entities recognize and disrupt potential active shooters who may be on a trajectory toward violence. The Bureau also continues its research to identify indicators that could signal potential violent intent. 

Run. Hide. Fight. 

These FBI training videos demonstrate the three tactics you can use to keep yourself and others safe during an active shooter attack—run, hide, and fight. Learning these principles now will prepare and empower you to put them into practice—and survive—should the unthinkable occur.

In this FBI training video, customers at a bar are caught in an active shooter event. By employing the run, hide, and fight tactics, as well as knowing the basics of rendering first aid to others, they are prepared, empowered, and able to survive the attack.

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In this trailer for the FBI training video Run. Hide. Fight., customers at a bar are caught in an active shooter event. Will they know what to do to survive?

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Overview of FBI Roles 

FBI Jurisdiction in Active Shooter Incidents

Shortly after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, the FBI sought ways its personnel could better assist its law enforcement partners. Two actions enhanced these efforts.

First, the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012, signed into law by the president in January 2013, permits the U.S. attorney general—at the request of appropriate state or local law enforcement personnel—to provide federal assistance during active shooter incidents and mass killings (defined by the law as three or more people) in public places. The attorney general delegated this responsibility to the FBI.

Second, working with other cabinet agencies, the FBI is finding ways to help prevent and respond to active shooters. A White House working group—consisting of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services—is part of a broader initiative, Now is the Time, undertaken after the Sandy Hook shootings. DOJ, led by the FBI, was specifically tasked with training law enforcement and other first responders to ensure that protocols for responding to active shooter situations are consistent across the country.

Active Shooter Training

ALERRT/Other Training Initiatives

Operational/Victim Assistance

Once an active shooter incident occurs, the FBI proactively assists state, local, campus, and tribal law enforcement first responders to supplement resources as needed. We can send multiple investigators to the scene, integrate into the command post, and/or mobilize and deploy evidence response teams, behavioral analysis and crisis management personnel, bomb technicians, SWAT teams, and experts in working with the news media. As appropriate, we may also establish a command post at FBI Headquarters composed of various operational and behavioral Bureau components.

Another essential part of our operational response is our victim assistance program. The FBI’s Victim Services Division (VSD), established in 2001, provides a variety of support services to victims/family members, first responders, investigative teams, and other operational elements. VSD assets available to support active shooter incidents include our field office victim specialists and members of our Victim Assistance Rapid Deployment Team from around the country, who are specially trained to handle mass casualty incidents.

In the Aftermath 

This FBI-produced documentary focuses on best practices after school shooting tragedies, including family reunification, dealing with accompanying trauma, and crisis planning. It highlights the difficult journey of recovery while also giving hope to survivors.

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Echoes of Columbine 

This documentary explores the issue of school shootings and what schools, parents, and law enforcement can do to help prevent these attacks.

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FBI Resources 

Partner Agencies 

Additional Resources 

The reports listed below were not authored by the FBI, but links to the reports are being provided for general public information.