Run, Hide, Fight: Police Special OPs Team Discusses What to do in an Active Shooter Scenario

TULSA, Okla. –

Two Oklahoma colleges recently have sent alerts warning of active shooter situations on campus.

Police said the obvious thing to do is run away if possible, but if you can’t, the next things to do are hide and fight for your life.

Investigators said the shooter at Rose State College was a domestic situation with a specific target. However, the initial alert warned students of an active shooter on campus and for everyone to shelter in place.

During a hoax call at the University of Oklahoma, a message was sent out for everyone to run, fight, hide. Police said knowing those three steps are crucial when it comes to life or death in real situations.

“Active shooters understand that when they fire their first shot, a clock is starting to tick down,” said Captain Mike Eckert, the leader of Tulsa Police’s special operations team.

That ticking clock can feel like an eternity for someone caught in the middle of an active shooter situation.

Police said if running away is not an option, the next thing to do his hide. In this case, hiding means finding a door that opens inward and barricading it with whatever you can find to make sure the shooter can’t get in.

“Literally anything inside that room that we can move, tables, chairs, filing cabinets, anything that has any kind of substance or weight to it,” said Eckert. “We want to push that in front of the door, just make it that much more difficult for the suspect to get to us.”

Your last resort is to fight. Eckert knows a battle with a gunman isn’t fair, but your life could depend on it.

“The challenge of discussing the fight part of this is to get people to understand that this is literally a fight for their lives,” said Eckert. “There is no rules involved in this fight.”

Eckert said routine things like a fire extinguisher or an office chair could be used to take down a shooter.

He said all bets are off when it comes to defending yourself and others, so don’t worry about what is and isn’t legal when there’s something with a gun.

Police said having your plan figured out beforehand on how to escape or where you’ll go to hide is important, so you’re not trying to figure that out in a moment filled with fear and adrenalin.