It’s vital to know the best course of action when it comes to handling a situation with an Active Shooter. This morning’s presentation, courtesy of Mike Vercillo, Community Services Officer for the Arcadia Police Department and Steve Delgadillo, Community Affairs Liaison for the Arcadia Police Department, gave insight into the nature of Active Shooters as well as what to do in case you come across this situation.
Shootings can occur in various settings that range from; school campuses, houses of worship and senior living facilities, statistically however most take place in offices and retail establishments. As recently as the 1970s there has been a greater frequency in school shootings with more than 1,300 taking place since that time. Unfortunately California is among the top three states (along with Texas and Florida) with the most incidents of active shootings.
Mike also presented statistics to illustrate the commonalities between cases of School Shootings. In the United States when it comes to school shootings most occurred in the morning and 669 incidents occurred outside the school property with 588 incidents occurring inside the school building.
What everyone can take away from Mike and Steve’s presentation is the guidelines that come directly from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on what to do in the case of an Active Shooter. To put it simply they suggest Run, Hide, Fight. This breaks down into the following instructions.
Run:
- Have an escape route and plan in mind.
- Leave your belongings behind.
- Keep your hands visible.
Hide:
- Hide in an area out of the shooter’s view.
- Block entry to your hiding place and lock the doors.
- Silence your cell phone, pager & electronic devices.
Fight:
- Only when your life is in imminent danger.
- Attempt to incapacitate the shooter.
- Act with physical aggression, throw things at the shooter. Put him on the defensive.
Mike adds the fourth tactic; Call, he states to do so when it is safe and it will update the information the police have.
As he always does Mike ended his presentation with the statement, “See Something, Say Something.” The Police want to assist, it is their duty to help but they need people to report what they see.
Legislative Representatives & City Officials
- Sandra Maravilla representing Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s Office reported that due to the rise in dock less scooters, an investigation has been called for in order to study the impacts of e-scooters and bikes.
- Tim Schwehr Economic Development Analyst for the City of Arcadia reported that the Menorah lighting went well last night. The city is in the process of doing a survey and parking study which will be accessed by a professional parking consultant. The city has created and posting a new Tourism Video for the City of Arcadia.
- Linda Sells of the MAD Town Council reported that they just a yard sale in order to help generate funds. The organization is looking to a dinner in February. On December 20th they are having their Christmas dinner giveaway, all children under 11 will receive a wrapped toy from Santa Claus.
- Mike Vercillo of the Arcadia Police Department reported that last night they had a fantastic Ring Subsidy event, the attendance was between 600 and 700 Arcadia Residents and/or Business Owners. After the night concluded the made over 450 transactions.
