From Duck-and-Cover to Active Shooter Response
In the 1950s, American schoolchildren practiced "Duck and Cover" — crouching under desks to survive a nuclear explosion. The drill was a product of its era: an imperfect response to an existential threat. Seven decades later, American schools face a different threat, and the response protocols have evolved considerably — though the fundamental question remains the same: when violence comes, what do we do?
The FBI’s Active Shooter Reports document the scope of the problem. Between 2000 and 2019, the United States recorded 333 active shooter incidents resulting in 2,851 casualties. From 2020 through 2024, there were an additional 223 incidents and 1,070 casualties. Educational facilities rank as the second most frequent location for these attacks.
Run-Hide-Fight
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security developed the "Run-Hide-Fight" framework as a simple, memorable response protocol for active shooter situations:
- Run: If there is an accessible escape path, take it. Leave belongings behind. Help others escape if possible. Prevent others from entering the danger zone. Call 911 when safe.
- Hide: If evacuation is not possible, find a place to hide out of the shooter’s view. Lock and barricade the door. Silence your phone. Stay quiet.
- Fight: As an absolute last resort, take action against the shooter. Act with aggression. Improvise weapons. Commit to your actions.
Avoid-Deny-Defend
The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program at Texas State University developed the "Avoid-Deny-Defend" protocol, which mirrors Run-Hide-Fight with slightly different framing:
- Avoid: Get away from the threat. Have a pre-planned escape route. Leave the area regardless of whether others agree to follow.
- Deny: If escape is impossible, deny the attacker access to your location. Lock doors. Barricade entry points. Turn off lights. Stay away from windows.
- Defend: If confronted directly, fight aggressively. Use improvised weapons. Work as a team if possible.
ALICE Training
Perhaps the most widely adopted program is ALICE — Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. ALICE has trained over one million individuals across all 50 states. Its core principles align with the other frameworks:
- Alert: Recognize the threat and notify others immediately
- Lockdown: Lock and barricade doors to create a barrier between occupants and the threat
- Inform: Communicate real-time information about the shooter’s location
- Counter: If directly confronted, take disruptive action — movement, noise, distraction
- Evacuate: When safe to do so, evacuate the building
The Common Thread: Barriers Buy Time
All three frameworks share a critical element: barricading doors. When escape is not possible, the single most effective action is preventing the attacker from entering an occupied room. Every second of delay is a second for occupants to shelter and for law enforcement to arrive.
CISA’s K-12 School Security Guide reinforces this principle, recommending physical security measures that include door hardening and barricade devices as part of a comprehensive security plan.
Improvised barricades — desks, chairs, filing cabinets — are better than nothing. But they are heavy, slow to position, and unreliable under the stress of an actual attack. Purpose-built door barricade devices like the Bolo Stick deploy in one step, withstand over 4,200 pounds of force, and require no training or fine motor skills to operate.
"We needed something to actually keep them out — to buy time for police response."
— Bill Barna, Bolo Stick founder and 33-year retired police officer
There is no magic solution to the active shooter threat. But training programs combined with physical barriers give occupants actionable options and measurable protection. Normalcy bias — the assumption that "it won’t happen here" — is the real enemy. Preparation is the antidote.
Add a proven physical barrier to your safety protocol. Shop Bolo Stick products or contact us for guidance.