No one ever wants to find themselves in an active shooter situation. But if you are, it’s important to know how to respond. Today’s guest is Katherine Schweit. Katherine is an attorney, consultant, and retired FBI special agent who created and led the FBI’s Active Shooter Program after the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She joined a White House team working on violence prevention matters, led by then Vice President Biden. She is the author of Stop the Killing: How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis, How to Talk About Guns With Anybody, and the FBI’s research on mass shootings, a study of 160 active shooter incidents in the United States between 2000 and 2013. She was part of the crisis team responding to shooting incidents including at the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Pentagon, and the Navy Yard in Washington, DC.

Show Notes:

• [1:14] - Katherine shares her background, her experience in the FBI, and her work in the Active Shooter Program.

• [3:05] - In her work, she spent time with parents and families of those killed in mass shootings.

• [4:23] - What constitutes a mass shooting or an active shooter situation? There is no real definition.

• [6:10] - Most mass killings are domestic, particularly murder/suicides, but those will not show in data. Katherine explains what the FBI looks at.

• [8:44] - Journalists and media impact what stories are news-worthy.

• [10:21] - Katherine released her book How to Talk About Guns With Anyone to keep the conversation going.

• [13:19] - In 2020, the CDC determined that gun deaths in youth 19 and younger exceeded the deaths by traffic accidents in the same age group.

• [15:56] - Safety isn’t about when it happens. It’s about if it happens.

• [16:58] - The shooting at Columbine changed the way the American public viewed and feared shootings, although public shootings were not new events.

• [18:32] - Katherine explains the response and training of law enforcement officers during the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.

• [21:06] - The numbers of incidents have increased but we have not seen the number of casualties increase.

• [25:00] - Television shows and movies create misunderstandings on what law enforcement officers and FBI agents can accomplish.

• [26:37] - See something, say something.

• [28:00] - In most cases, someone close to a shooter had information and didn’t say anything.

• [29:48] - What do you do when something happens? People should have Run, Hide, Fight training.

• [32:51] - In 13% of shootings, a civilian was successful in getting in to help incapacitate the shooter.

• [37:40] - A simple thing to be prepared with is knowledge of the exits in your location.

• [39:19] - It is important when hiding to hide where there is actual cover.

• [40:27] - Don’t stay where there is no protection.

• [42:51] - Shooters come in with a plan and it is always intentional.

• [44:11] - Sometimes an unexpected distraction makes a difference because it throws off a shooter’s plan.

• [47:37] - While school shootings are terrible incidents, children are actually more in danger in their homes and neighborhoods.

• [49:45] - Although they are major news stories when they happen, elementary school shootings are rare.

• [51:29] - Listen to Katherine’s podcast, Stop the Killing, for more information.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review. 

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• How to Talk About Guns With Anybody by Katherine Schweit

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• Katherine Schweit’s Website

• Stop the Killing Podcast