Generally, an active shooter incident will last 10 to 15 minutes, according to Seal Beach Police Capt. Nick Nicholas.
He addressed the audience in the McGaugh Elementary School auditorium on Tuesday, March 25. He was giving his annual presentation on “Surviving Gun Violence.”
The SBPD will respond in 3 to 4 minutes, according to Nicholas.
Nicholas said the police will need you to keep yourself safe until they arrive.
At the start of the presentation, Police Chief Michael Henderson thanked everyone for coming. He said they were going to provide the audience with some knowledge that they hoped the audience would never need to use.
Capt. Nicholas did not use a mic during the presentation. He asked the audience about that but the audience indicated they could hear him without it. Yosa the facilities dog spent the presentation on the auditorium stage.
“This isn’t something I enjoy talking about,” said Capt. Nicholas, the support services captain.
He warned the audience that the presentation included graphic images and the sounds of real gunshots being fired.
His said the objects were to provide the public with strategies for preparing for violent situations, provide them with options to enhance their chances of survival, and tell them how to interact with the police during an active shooter event.
Nicholas said the SBPD’s mission was to drive down crime and improve the quality of life.
Nicholas said he wanted the audience to be “more prepared, less scared,” quoting a slide.
He then showed the audience a video of a Florida school boardd shooting. The video showed the board members sitting at the dais while an agitated man brandished a handgun.
Then he started shooting.
According to Nicholas, the man with a gun was the only person killed. A law enforcement officer shot him.
Nicholas turned to active shooter statistics.
Nicholas, who earlier in his career was the SBPD public information officer, said he thought the media sensationalizes gun violence. The audience agreed.
Nicholas quoted the FBI report “Active Shooter Incidents in the United States 2023.” The report was released in June 2024.
He said the statistics hadn’t changed much from the previous report.
There were 48 active shooter events in 2023, according to “Active Shooter Incidents”.
According to the report:
• There were 49 active shooters.
• There were 139 individuals wounded. Of those, 125 were civilians; 12 law enforcement; two security personnel.
• There were 105 individuals killed. Of those, 101 were civilians; two law enforcement; two security personnel.
• Five of the suspects wore body armor. (See page ii of the report, available online.)
Nicholas said active shooters rarely give themselves up. According to Nicholas, the killing generally continues until the suspect is captured or killed.
He said 61% of active shooters are captured.
According to the “Active Shooter Incidents” report, seven took their own lives.
Nicholas said 20 of the suspects had a connection to the victims; 28 had no connection.
He said 28 incidents occurred in open space; three in schools.
According to Nicholas, the media leaves the public with the impression that most active shooter events take place in schools.
According to the “Active Shooter Incidents” report (page 43), from 2019 to 2023, there were 98 active shooter events at commercial locations and 85 in open spaces.
However, the numbers at business locations appear to be going down.
Later during the presentation, Nicholas said he believed business were doing better at being a hard target.
Nicholas said he didn’t think politics made a difference in active shooter events.
Nicholas then discussed “red flags,” warning signs that something was up.
• Increasing isolation
• Admiration for past violence
• An interest in weapons or tactical gear
• Paranoia
• Lifestyle changes
He then showed the audience a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department video “Surviving an Active Shooter”.
“Send this video to your friends and family,” Nicholas said.
(Editor’s note: The video is on YouTube, but is age-restricted. You’ll need to sign in to see it.)
According to the video, “They look for easy targets.”
The video encouraged the audience to get out if possible, to help others if they can, hide if possible and if you can’t run or hide, be prepared to fight.
According to Nicholas, cover is a location that will block a bullet; concealment is a place that will prevent someone from seeing you. He said if there is no cover, you need to get behind a place of concealment.
He defined an active shooter as someone actively killing people. A barricade situation is when a suspect hunkers down in one place.
Nicholas said situations evolve very quickly. He turned to a sociology theory of crime called the Routine Activity Theory. He said that for a crime you need a likely offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a suitable guardian.
“If you take one of those three things away, it probably won’t happen.”
He told the public to be just a little bit more aware of their surroundings. He also encouraged the public to call the police about anything suspicions
“No call is too small,” he said.
In the event of an active shooter event, he said, “Put as much distance as possible between you and violence.”
He said you can text 911. (According to Nicholas, if you’re hiding from an active shooter and someone knocks and says they’re the police, you should text 911 to get confirmation.)
He showed the audience a TV interview with a woman who was shot during an active shooter event. People warned her not to go into the building, but her focus was on a phone call.
As for fighting, he said, “This is your absolute last resort.”
“There are no rules in this situation,” he said.
“You have to be violent,” he said.
He said 9/11 taught law enforcement to pay attention to red flags. (Earlier he said if the guy taking flying lessons doesn’t care about learning to land, that’s a red flag.)
He said police would step over wounded victims to stop an active shooter. They will not tend to victims. Nicholas also said officers might not be wearing their uniforms when they respond to an active shooter.
He said officers would treat everyone like a suspect until they know otherwise.
According to Nicholas, you should not approach the police, pint, or scream.
“You have to think about these things now,” he said.
Nicholas spoke briefly about gun safety. The SBPD provided free gun locks to anyone who wanted them.
