1. They're looking for victims and not a fight.

The suspect took his own life prior to confronting officers. The officers didn’t report hearing a shot so he may have done it before they even entered the building. This is one of the few commonalities among school attackers—they’re not looking for a fight. They’re looking for victims!

This was true with the murderers from Sandy Hook, Dunblane (UK), Virginia Tech, Erfurt (Germany), Columbine, and many others. When confronted by police officers they took their own lives.

This reveals a great deal about the threat and if you don’t truly understand the threat, you are less likely to prevent the threat. The threat is looking for victims and not a fight. If you want to be successful, you must think, plan, act, and prepare with this in mind. You must perfect what you do and you must speed up your response!

2. The threat that is closest to you is the greatest threat.

I have been doing school vulnerability assessments for nearly 30 years. Last year I completed about 25. Last year was the very first year in my entire career that I did not find a single exterior door handle unlocked. It has taken quite a bit to get here, but nonetheless that is a huge win for us and we should celebrate it. Well done!

As we get better at denying entry into our schools, and for the record, the threat for an elementary school is almost always outside and not inside the building, we must prepare for the threat to adjust to our safety successes.

The suspect faked enrolling a student so he could get inside the building. He’s not the first one to do something like this. The threat that is closest to you is the greatest threat because the suspect has access to the students and you have less time to react. When you have less time to act the more critical it is that whatever you do is perfect.

I don’t know if a lockdown was initiated or teachers locked down on their own, but we must perfect our lockdowns! It is our last attempt to thwart the threat, should it get inside the building and close to us.

3. Reunification comes last.

You must have a reunification plan and it must be solid. Should you experience extreme violence, how you release students back to their parents will lessen or increase emotional trauma. It’s very important…however, it’s not the most important plan.

I’m not trying to minimize its value. In the last year lots of schools have been creating and practicing reunification. I would never tell you not to do so but I would tell you that reunification comes last so it should be the last thing you prepare after you’ve mastered the first things—saving lives (comprehensive and coordinated safety plan like Safe & Loved, massive and positive engagement, tracking trajectories, reenergizing relationships, locking down in 7 seconds, student safety assessments, defining teacher neighborhoods, implementing 4 points of contact during morning arrival, lockdown drills in cafeteria, and staff training on spotting indicators of danger).

If I could only practice one drill—reunification or a lockdown—I’d always practice another lockdown. Always.

Saving lives must come first. If you perfect the former the latter (reunification) will be easier and less critical.