In the wake of horrific mass shootings such as the two that occurred in El Paso and Dayton this past weekend, active shooter protocol has become part of employee training in schools, major institutions such as hospitals, and others. The restaurant business, which employs over 13 million people in the US, has gradually been putting guidelines and suggestions into place for its workers, such as efforts by Washington, DC restaurant management during the Pride events in the city earlier in the summer.
According to Washington City Paper, local restaurants are taking advantage of the free active shooter training from the Metropolitan Police Department, which includes materials prepared by the Department of Homeland Security. The department has seen an increase in requests for this training, which has been offered since 2013.
“We were doing one a month in 2013 and now we’re doing up to 30 a month,” Lt. Carlos Mejia told Washington City Paper. “Whenever something happens here in the U.S. or across the world, people start becoming aware of any number of vulnerabilities their location has.”
There is also available active shooter training for restaurant workers with industry organizations such as The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, which hosts 20 and 70 restaurant operators and workers for sessions in conjunction with the MPD, according to Washington City Paper.
For those working in the restaurant industry or other customer-facing fields, a review of tips for active shooter situations is worthwhile. An article from last year in Huffington Post covers off expert strategies for those situations, including scoping out exit plans when you enter a room, getting as far away as possible from the building where a situation is occurring rather than stopping outside to call 911, and curling into a fetal position when hiding to reduce the amount of target.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-experts-know-active-shooter-situation_n_5be5b4a6e4b0769d24ccb529
