Surviving a School Shooting: A Plan of Action for Parents, Teachers, and Students [Paperback]

Loren W. Christensen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1581606591 | ISBN-13: 978-1581606591

Most books about school violence focus on anti-bullying programs and counseling; this book, by retired cop Loren Christensen, takes a hard, realistic look at teaching kids what they will need to know if a gunman walks into their school.

What was once unimaginable and rare is now, tragically, part of life, and it's all too easy to summon that terrible image of a school surrounded by police officers, emergency vehicles and frantic parents and kids. Shootings have happened at large, urban schools and at small schools in sleepy little towns with low crime rates, because all it takes is one disturbed person to turn a seemingly safe school into a grim statistic.

Unfortunately, even responsible parents who warn their kids about drunk driving and other risky behaviors commonly send their children off to school without having what may be the most important talk of all: "What would you do if someone showed up with a weapon?"

In this unique guide, Christensen teaches parents how to work with their children - from elementary schoolers to teens - to develop an age-­appropriate plan of action that includes developing an awareness of surroundings and critical thinking skills. Within the pages of this book are ideas and techniques to teach kids how to feel safer at school; when to tell adults about rumors or threats; how to mentally rehearse a response to a shooting; and what to do when a shooting occurs: when to run and how to run; when to hide and how to hide; when to fight and how to fight.

Just as a fire drill prepares a child to calmly follow a path to safety in a burning building, the information in this book will train students to begin thinking strategically, defensively and offensively in case violence erupts at their school.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Loren Christensen began his law enforcement career in 1967 when he served in the army as a military policeman in the United States and in Vietnam. He joined the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau in 1972 and retired in 1997. During those years, he specialized in street gangs, defensive tactics, dignitary protection, and patrolling the bizarre streets of skid row. He now writes full time and teaches martial arts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581606591
• ISBN-13: 978-1581606591
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #753,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mr. Christensen began training in the martial arts in 1965 and continues to this day. Over the years he has earned a total of 11 black belts, eight in karate, two in jujitsu and one in arnis. As a result of his tour in Vietnam and nearly three decades in law enforcement, Mr. Christensen's focus in the martial arts - writing, teaching and training - has always been on street survival, not competition. He has starred in seven martial arts training videos.

In August of 2011, Mr. Christensen was inducted into the martial arts Masters Hall of Fame in Anaheim, California, receiving The Golden Life Achievement Award.

As a professional writer since 1978, Mr. Christensen has penned 46 published books with five publishers, dozens of magazine articles, and edited a police newspaper for nearly eight years. He has written on the martial arts, missing children, street gangs, school shootings, workplace violence, riots, police-involved shootings, nutrition, exercise, prostitution, and various street subcultures. His first first fiction--Dukkha: An Eye for an Eye--was recently published by YMAA Publications.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important wakeup call for parents, administrators, and students alike, October 22, 2008

By 

L. A. Kane (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surviving a School Shooting: A Plan of Action for Parents, Teachers, and Students (Paperback)

Surviving a School Shooting is an important resource for anyone who wants to be safe at school. The author is a highly experienced martial artist and veteran law enforcement officer with tons of hands-on experience in the field; a guy you really should listen to. His book is a quick and easy read, a mere 136 pages, but truly illuminating. It begins by establishing the threat using not only familiar incidents pulled from the headlines but also a host of others that most of us have never heard about as well. The 9-1-1 transcripts, statistics, and case studies are chilling reminders that this type of thing is too pervasive to ignore. It's not only real, but it can happen to you, your charges, or your loved ones unless you take active steps to thwart it. It then demonstrates age-appropriate action plans for dealing with the dangers.

Easily implementable methods of prevention, including specific tactics and techniques for recognizing dangers, dealing with volatile individuals, and, should the worst case occur, fighting back if you're forced to do so, are explained in easily understandable terms that help you come to grips with this once unthinkable situation. There is a ton of really good information packed into this tome, but one of the most important aspects is that it not only makes you think about the dangers but also impels you to take action to prevent them.

If you are a parent it arms you with the information you need to work with the school board and administration to help your child's school set up a sensible safety program. If you are a school administrator it helps you understand the cost (and liability) of not having a program in place and gives you prudent guidelines for implementation. Shootings have happened not only at large, urban schools but also at one-room schoolhouses in sleepy, rural neighborhoods as well. Everyone needs to be concerned about these dangers because all it takes is one disturbed person to turn your school into the next shocking headline.

If you're a student it arms you with the potentially lifesaving ability to sense impending danger and gives you solid strategies for acting appropriately on what you discover. You will learn how to feel safer at school, when to tell adults about threats or rumors, how to mentally rehearse your response to an incident, and what to do if a shooting occurs. You'll know when and how to run, hide, or fight as the situation dictates.

Few books are truly "must reads," but in today's volatile world this really is one of them. I not only read the book myself, but have also given copies to the Parent's Club, School Commission, and Principal at my son's school as well. It is a very highly recommended, important read!

...Coincidentally, I'm listening to the news as I'm writing this review and there appears to be an incident underway at a residence hall at Western Kentucky University, potentially with multiple shooters at the Bowling Green University side of the campus. It's a small town with limited local media on-site, so reports are unclear about exactly what has happened at the moment. Hopefully no one has been seriously hurt, but regardless of what exactly is occurring this incident clearly reinforces the importance of this outstanding book...

Lawrence Kane
Author of Blinded by the Night, among other titles