Active shooters pose a legitimate threat to employers — between 2000 and 2018, 277 active shooter scenarios took place in the U.S., with the vast majority of them occurring in the workplace, according to data from the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). But these events make up a small portion of the overall workplace violence employers face.
While the active shooter threat is real, it is unlikely most workplaces will directly encounter an active shooter, said John Dony, director of the Campbell Institute at the National Safety Council (NSC). While he said he thinks employers should address that specific facet of workplace violence, he emphasized that employers can prepare for active shooter scenarios by readying their organizations for any kind of workplace violence. “I think we need to tackle this issue on many different fronts, not just on the active shooter side,” Dony said.
