Maryland has launched a website designed to be helpful in the most unfortunate circumstances. Its purpose is to help schools, homes, houses of worship and businesses prepare for a potential active assailant incident.
The website is a product of Maryland’s Active Assailant Interdisciplinary Work Group, which convened following the Washington Navy Yard shooting in September 2013. The website aims to provide advice from experts on preparedness.
For example, the section on businesses and employees identifies specific behaviors of concern that employers or co-workers might recognize as signaling a potential problem. It also features potential intervention strategies. And in a worst-case scenario, it identifies survival strategies.
There are different threat assessment guidelines for K-12 institutions and colleges and universities in the Schools and Universities section.
The Houses of Worship section features a guide for developing an emergency operations plan, including what to do until help arrives.
There’s also a personal security checklist in the Special Events and Tourist Attraction section that suggests creating a personal or family emergency action plan and carrying simple-to-use protective tools such as pepper spray. It also details some possibly suspicious behaviors you may spot in others.
Under Families and Individuals, there’s guidance on what to do if you find yourself in a mass shooting incident.
Some of the sources for these safety tips include the FBI, FEMA, the Maryland State Department of Education, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Healthcare & Public Health Sector Coordinating Council and the InfraGard, which is a partnership between the FBI and members of the private sector.
The bottom line is to help keep you from becoming a victim.
