‘This could be the fight of your life’: New program shows how to survive an armed attack

York Regional Police have launched a new initiative to help educate the public on how to respond when there is an armed attacker. The YRP’s Run, Hide, Defend project was unveiled Wednesday and breaks down the three things it says people should do if faced with an attacker: run, hide and defend. The focal point of the initiative is a video that stresses people need to plan ahead for their survival because an attack could happen anywhere and anytime. YRP has also published a Run, Hide, Defend information pamphlet and poster that it has made available on its website. Run, Hide, Defend As a first resort, the program recommends people run to safety, prevent others from getting in harm’s way and call from 911 a safe location. If running isn’t possible, the program recommends hiding from the attacker by locking and barricading doors, turning off lights and remaining as silent as possible. If both of those efforts fail, it says to defend yourself. “This could be the fight for your life,” the video says. When defending yourself is your only option, it says to scan your environment to find defensive tools and to work with others as a team to defend against the attacker. Preparedness important, Virginia Tech survivor says Kristina Anderson was there for the launch of the Run, Hide, Defend project at the YRP headquarters in Aurora, Ont., Wednesday, and having survived the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, she says it’s important for people to know how to react when there are active shooters. “If we don’t talk about how to prevent and how to react to these events, we will do nothing, and sometimes that can put us in a place of paralysis or shock,” she says. Kristina Anderson, who survived the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, says it’s important for people to know how to react when there are active shooters. (Martin Trainor/CBC) “Being able to have these conversations in advance, it gives you more resilience, it gives you more education, and it increases your capacity to make a better decision.” Anderson survived the attack despite being shot three times — twice in the back and once in a toe — and says the gunman came to her classroom three times and shot and killed 11 students and her professor. Ultimately, 33 people, including the shooter, lost their lives in the attack. Program adaptable to different scenarios While emergency preparedness is a key part of Run, Hide, Defend, police says it isn’t specifically meant to teach people how to react to scenarios like last Monday’s van attack in Toronto, but some of it can be adapted to a variety of scenarios. “The awareness of your surroundings, certainly what is happening around you, absolutely it applies to it,” Superintendent Kevin Torre said. York Regional Police Superintendent Kevin Torrie says the Run, Hide, Defend is meant for attacks in workplaces and public spaces. (Martin Trainor/CBC) “It is very timely based on world events, and some aspects can be applied to an environment such as that, but it’s meant for more of an environment [such as] a workplace, public spaces.” Run, Hide, Defend is expected to roll out to York Region District School Board and several employers in the region. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/yrp-run-defend-hide-1.4645662?cmp=rss