‘Active shooter’ to ‘active killer’
TC changes lingo, approach to dealing with potential threats on campus
Motivated by recent violence domestically and abroad, law enforcement officials are adapting how they respond to active situations, including those involving knives and bombs.
At Texarkana College, the adjustments are reflected in the words officers and officials are using in reference to violent situations.
According to TC Police Chief Stephen Gass, his department is working to change the lingo used during an event from “active shooter” to “active killer,” so those involved know they are dealing with a deadly situation, regardless if a firearm is used. Gass said TC’s move is part “of a transition nationwide.”
All TC police officers have gone through Active Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training at Texas State University in San Marcos. Funded through the Department of Homeland Security, ALERRT also trains officers in Civilian Response to Active Shooting Events. Two TC officers have gone through the CRASE training, which is beginning to use the new language.
“What they’re really trying to do is make that transition, so people don’t automatically think, ‘Hey, this isn’t an active killing situation because he’s using a knife.’ A knife, a car, a bomb, anything is just as deadly,” Gass said. “It’s more of a campaign to make people realize that it doesn’t matter what the tool is being used to kill—it’s still that active killing situation. It’s that psychological aspect of it.”
Gass said that since 2000, there have been about 200 incidents of
active killing, which law enforcement deems as acts of mass murder. That includes the May incident at the University of Texas at Austin, where a student used a machete-like hunting knife to kill one person and injure three others.
Phyllis Deese, executive director of human resources, institutional research and effectiveness, referred to the UT event as an example of why the wording is changing.
“When you talk about an active shooter, you see someone with a gun and walking through,” she said. “It seems more and more recently we’ve heard of events where people have done these terroristic acts with a knife, with a machete, with some other device than a gun. When you say active shooter, it’s limiting it to a gunman. When you’re doing an active killing response, the SWAT teams and so forth are responding to any life-threatening situation, regardless of the weaponry.”
Gass said changes to the lingo and how officers, staff and students respond to active events also are aimed at empowering potential victims.
“Here on our campus, we’re really going from a lockdown to a lockout,” Gass said of situations where officials electronically lock all the doors on a building to prevent a potential threat from entering.
He cited an event about a month ago in which a man who had a warrant for his arrest ran from Texarkana, Texas, police after a traffic stop and hid in bushes on the campus. Police and school officials worked quickly to lock down the buildings.
Their recent training also kicked in, as they used the words “lock out” to secure the campus.
“That way, we don’t make the students feel like they have to stay in their classrooms,” Gass said. “If there’s a bad situation in there, we want them empowered. If they have to go through a wall, go through a wall. We’re trying to make sure they understand what they can do.”
TC has a video on its website created by Homeland Security that outlines what to do in an active killing event.
Deese said each year, the college updates staff training on the topic before classes begin and talks to students about campus security during orientation.
Gass said this year, TC is planning to create a video to not only address these changes, but also to inform students on the details of Senate Bill 11, passed in 2015, which allows those who hold a concealed-carry license to bring a weapon on a college campus. The legislation took effect Aug. 1, 2016, on the campuses of four-year institutions. It will take effect Aug. 1 at two-year and technical schools, including Texarkana College.