More than a dozen Sylmar residents learned how to recognize potential warning signs of a mass shooting – and heard key survival strategies for active shooter incidents – during a community presentation led by law enforcement officers.
“Run, hide, fight” should be the initial responses to most active shooter scenarios, said LAPD Sgt. Adrienne Legaspi, who works in the department’s Major Crimes Division. Ideally, the steps should happen in that order – flee if possible; hide if you can’t get away; or fight off the attacker if necessary. But, she noted, the best course of action to increase the likelihood of survival comes down to a person’s precise location relative to the shooter when they strike.
“If a shooter comes in the door [next to you] and you’re the first one he’s going to go after, then you’ve got to just fight because you’re in a position where the ‘run, hide, fight’ sequence is not an option,” explained Legaspi during the Active Shooter Prevention presentation at the Sylmar Neighborhood Council office. “You’ve got to do whatever is necessary in the [given] situation.”
‘Hits Close to Home’
Kurt Cabrera-Miller, president of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council, said he began looking into hosting an active shooter prevention training locally due to the high number of mass shootings happening nationwide – especially after reading a news article last month about the San Fernando Police arresting two suspects for commercial burglary and attempting to make an explosive device. He said he was particularly alarmed by the accompanying photo, which showed numerous firearms and explosive materials the police confiscated from the suspects.
“Public safety is such a priority within Sylmar, the North Valley and Los Angeles [and] not having this information readily available for Sylmar – and knowing that there’s a need for it – we [knew it was important] to offer this training for the community,” said Cabrera-Miller. “After seeing the article about that [arrest] in San Fernando, that really hits close to home.”
Recognizing Warning Signs
Due to the deadly and seemingly unpredictable nature of mass shootings – defined as an incident in which more than three victims are shot or killed – many people think they are powerless to prevent them, said Legaspi. In fact, in 2023 there were 656 mass shootings in the U.S., resulting in nearly 600 deaths and 2,380 injuries, according to statistics from the Gun Violence Archive.
Despite the alarming numbers, becoming familiar with possible warning signs – and recognizing and reporting any suspicious behavior by colleagues, community members or even relatives – can and sometimes does help thwart mass shootings, Legaspi stressed.
“It’s all about awareness – it’s about what we as community members are paying attention to,” she said.
One red flag people can watch out for is “planning behavior” – such as acquiring firearms, learning how to make explosive devices, or repeatedly driving by (or spending excessive time at) a public location where many people normally gather (such as a mall or school). Because mass shooters typically plan their attacks for six to 12 months, “leakage” commonly occurs during that time, said Legaspi. A would-be shooter might leak information to others, like a growing interest in weapons, or openly talk about something very specific, such as planning an actual attack.
“Think of it like a pipe – it’s leaking out information,” described Legaspi. “Sometimes the leakage is a cry for help [because] sometimes these mass shooters don’t want to commit the violent act – they want somebody to stop them.”
Other (often overlapping) signs can include an individual who: suddenly withdraws from friends and family; experiences chronic loneliness or social isolation; is an “involuntary celibate” (also referred to as “incel”), who is unable to have a romantic partner despite wanting one; has anger issues; engages in bullying behavior; or expresses an interest in harming themselves or others.
Unfortunately, she added, many mass shootings have occurred when at least one person (aside from the shooter) knew the mass shooting was going to happen, but didn’t report anything. In some cases, she said, people didn’t speak up out of fear of retaliation, out of loyalty to a friend or family member, or simply because they “didn’t believe something would really happen.”
“But we’re here – you’re here – to help disrupt that pathway to violence,” said Legaspi.
Patricia Hernandez, a health educator with LA County’s Office of Violence Prevention, said she attended the presentation to augment her professional safety knowledge to better support the communities she serves, and to be more informed for her protection and to share the information with loved ones.
“It’s so important to become more aware of some of the signs we might come across in our day-to-day lives, and to become better at paying attention to what’s going on in our own communities,” said Hernandez. “That’s why I came here – to learn more about what I can do. Hearing all these facts reminded me that this is a very real concern everywhere.”
For an overview of active shooter safety resources, go to: www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/active-shooter-safety-resources.