Customer Reviews

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

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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