A scream is heard in the distance, a loud bang. Was that a gunshot? It sounded like a gunshot. People are yelling. People are running. It is happening and it's happening now. We started running. These were the words from my fourteen-year-old daughter.
As I sat watching my son's baseball game, a championship game, they were in the lead, but it was close. The sun was shining, and spirits were high. The boys have been crushing it and stood a good chance at taking home that ring, but one wrong move and it could be over. One error could change the outcome in an instant. My heart pounded with every at bat, my son steps up to the plate.
My phone rings. I look down and see it's my 14-year-old daughter. I almost sent it to voicemail but then remember...she's at the mall with friends. I answer.
Immediately I can tell something's not right. She is out of breath and there is a sound of panic in her voice. Now my heart is beating for a different reason. I'm on my feet instantly, she's running as she starts talking. She's talking so fast I can hardly understand her.
She was at the mall, and someone heard a noise, they thought it was a gunshot. Someone else screams it was a gun, panic broke out. They thought there was an active shooter. Everyone started running, no one knew what was going on. She's still running and talking, running and talking - she and her friends are now outside the mall.
She is safe. Her friends are safe. It turns out that it was a smash & grab - someone smashed a jewelry store counter with a hammer. I'm sure it did sound like a gunshot to those nearby.
I breathe a little easier, my heart slows a bit, but I will never forget the moment I answered that phone, the panic in her voice. As I tried to remain calm and give her instructions, my instructions didn't matter because she was already in action mode. At fourteen years old, she knew that she had to act. She knew that she had to treat it seriously and she knew how to increase the chances of her and her friends being able to survive an active threat.
This is a true story, it happened yesterday afternoon on a bright sunny day. We are the lucky ones, this time. This time it wasn't an active shooter. This time my daughter and her friends are safe.
As I sit here typing this, I can't help but think, what if it was an active shooter. What if I was sitting here, as many parents have done, mourning an injury or worse yet, the loss of my child. I cannot even imagine the grief and my heart breaks thinking about the number of people who have had to go through those situations.
I have never felt so helpless being an hour away from her while she was going through what she did, but I have also never felt so at peace knowing that she is prepared and ready to take action if faced with an active threat.
As one of the partners of P3 Training Group, I am passionate about our training and discuss it with my kids constantly. When we go to the mall, when we go to the amusement park, when we go anywhere new. I remember going through our safety checklist with my daughter that morning... remember - heads up, out of our phones, be aware of your surroundings, know your exits, stay together. Her response, I know mom, I got this. And you know what... she did. When faced with danger, she did, she had it. She had been trained and she put that training into action. I'm the lucky one, my son won the championship and my daughter slept in her own bed last night.
Whether you take our Situational Awareness or Surviving an Active Shooter course or take training from someone else, please train yourself and discuss it with your kids. Just as one error could have changed the outcome of that baseball game, not empowering yourself and your loved ones with the knowledge and skills to survive in the face of active threats could change the outcome on a much larger scale.
It can happen anywhere, to anyone.
Comments