Scott holds active shooter exercise

First Lt. Paul Kilquist, Master Sgt. Joshua Ray, Tech Sgt. Vanessa Amalla, and Staff Sgt. Alexa Marro, all with the 375th Security Forces Squadron, discuss an active shooter situation prior to entering the building during the exercise. According to the FBI reports, 2014 and 2015 each saw 20 active shooter incidents. This is more than any two-year average in the past 16 years, and nearly six times as many as the period between 2000 and 2001, the starting point for the FBI’s review. In all, not including any of the shooters, 92 people were killed and another 139 wounded in active shooter incidents between 2014 and 2015. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jodi Martinez

Scott Air Force Base recently hosted an active shooter exercise.

Overall, active shooter situations have risen in frequency over the last two decades. According to the FBI, there was an average of 6.4 incidents each year, but the six years following saw an increase of 250 percent.

If ever in an active shooter situation, the Department of Homeland Security suggests the “avoid, deny, and defend” technique. The first is to avoid contact by running or removing oneself from the situation. The second is to deny access by barricading or locking doors.

The final action should be to defend or fight back.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Scott holds active shooter exercise."

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