What to Do in an Active Shooter or Lockdown Situation on a US Campus

Run, hide, fight: the standard US response

US colleges train students, faculty, and staff on Run, Hide, Fight , a response sequence for an active shooter used across schools, workplaces, and public buildings nationwide. It is not a metaphor. It names the literal order of options, and you choose whichever fits the moment as the situation changes.

Run

Leave the area immediately if there is a safe path out. Leave your belongings behind. Keep your hands empty and visible while you move, so officers responding to the scene do not mistake you for a threat. Help others leave if it does not slow you down, but do not stop to convince someone who refuses to move. Call 911 once you are somewhere safe, not while you are still in danger.

Hide

If running is not safe, get out of the shooter's line of sight. Lock the door and barricade it with furniture if you can. Turn off the lights, silence your phone including vibration, and stay quiet and low. Move away from doors and windows. Do not open the door for anyone, including someone claiming to be law enforcement, until uniformed officers confirm in person that it is safe.

Fight

Use this only as a last resort, when your life is in immediate danger and neither running nor hiding is an option. Commit fully, use anything nearby as a weapon, and act with other people nearby if possible. This step exists for the moment when there is no other choice left.

Learn your campus alert terms before an emergency happens

US schools use specific words in emergency alerts, and knowing them ahead of time saves seconds that matter.

• Lockdown: an active threat is on or near campus. Lock doors, move away from windows, and stay in place until told otherwise.

• Shelter in place: stay indoors, often used for severe weather or a hazardous material release rather than a shooter, but the actions overlap with lockdown.

• Hold: stay in your current room, hallways clear, typically used for a threat nearby but not immediate.

• All clear: the threat has ended. Wait for this exact message from official channels before you leave a hiding spot or resume normal activity.

Sign up for your school's emergency alert system

Nearly every US college sends emergency alerts by text, email, and automated phone call through a system you register for, sometimes automatically at enrollment and sometimes through an opt-in step you complete yourself. Confirm your US cell number and personal email are entered correctly during orientation, and check with your school's public safety or emergency management office if you are unsure you are enrolled. During an active threat, this system tells you whether to run, hide, or shelter, and when the danger has ended.

What happens when police arrive

Officers responding to an active shooter move directly toward the threat rather than stopping to help injured people right away, since their first job is to stop the danger. When you see police, raise your hands, keep them empty, avoid sudden movements, and follow instructions immediately. Do not run toward officers or grab onto them, even out of relief.

Report warning signs before an incident

Most US campuses have a way to report concerning behavior or threats before violence happens, often through a tip line, campus police non-emergency number, or an online form run by a behavioral threat assessment team. If you notice a classmate making threats or planning harm, report it. These systems exist specifically to intervene early, and using them protects everyone, including the person you report.

After an incident: support is available

If your campus experiences an active shooter incident or serious lockdown, expect follow-up communication from your school with information about counseling, academic accommodations for missed work, and a reunification point where family and friends can find you. Contact your school's counseling center even if you were not physically harmed, since witnessing or hearing about a violent incident affects people differently and support is available regardless of physical injury.

Off-campus housing needs a plan too

If you live off campus, your school's alert system may reach you slower for something happening in your neighborhood rather than on campus grounds. Follow local news, sign up for your city or county's separate emergency alert system where one exists, and know your building's own exits and lock options, since your dorm's specific plan does not apply to your apartment.

Unfamiliar for a reason, learn it before you need it

Active shooter drills and terms are routine on US campuses but new to most international students. Read your school's emergency plan when you arrive, identify the exits in your classrooms, dorm, and library, and treat every alert as real until you receive an official all clear message.

Sources

• FBI: Run. Hide. Fight. training video
• Clery Center: the Clery Act