According to a report by the Tuscaloosa News, school officials and students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama have adopted the highly controversial approach of attacking active shooters as a last resort option. A slowly increasing number of school organizations are adopting this approach over the more traditional approach of teaching staff and students to adapt based on the situation at hand if a person with a weapon enters a room and begins attacking others. Our paper Fight, Flight or Lockdown – Teaching Students and Staff to Attack Active Shooters Could Result in Reduced Casualties or Needless Deaths outlines some of the more significant risks and benefits of this approach.
The paper also outlines how there have already been incidents where active shooters were stopped by staff and students and how there have also been injuries in deaths when this approach was attempted. The paper was the result of more than a year and a half of research and encourages additional discussion on this highly controversial and potentially high liability concept. Steve Satterly did a great job in helping to research and write on this important topic.