Would you recognize the sound of a rifle shot? Does a firearm sound different when the weapon is fired indoors? And what’s the right response when you hear what may be gunfire in a shopping mall, sports stadium, casino resort or elsewhere?
Those questions and other critical safety issues were addressed on August 7 when, for the second year in a row, Snoqualmie Casino in Washington State hosted a free crisis-preparedness training course.
The training, which included an active-shooter drill and critical-care exercise, followed a similar exercise in 2018, conducted by former Navy SEALs.
“The response from last year’s training was so positive, Snoqualmie’s Tribal Council decided to host a training for all tribal casinos in Washington and local business leaders,” said Snoqualmie Tribe Chairman Bob de los Angeles in a statement. “The opportunity to share this lifesaving information with our fellow tribes and community leaders was something we felt we needed to do.”
This year’s training was led by FBI instructor and Special Agent Jack Moore, who has conducted similar drills for organizations throughout the country. Eastside Fire and Rescue of King County, Washington was on hand to show how to “stop the bleed” if victims are injured.
Some 150 representatives of 20 tribal organizations in Washington attended the training, said Brian Decorah, president and CEO of Snoqualmie Casino. “We’re doing all we can in prevention and preparedness to protect our guests and our team,” he told GGB News last week.
“Our tribal council has asked us to reach out to others in the state,” he said, and added that a tribal representative from Oregon also asked to attend, and was welcomed. “When it comes to the tribes, if we all pull together, we’ll all be more prepared and safer.”
Be Prepared
The training exposed participants to a blank round suddenly fired from an M4 semi-automatic assault weapon. Three of the shots, fired by a Snoqualmie police officer, went off in the ballroom and three others were fired outside, so participants could hear the difference.
“It was very jarring, by intent,” said Decorah. “Seconds matter in an active shooter situation. If people recognize the sound of gunshot and can tell it from a balloon popping or a palette dropping on the floor, hopefully they’ll respond more quickly in a real emergency, which can save lives.”
Deron Roberts, a retired 21-year FBI veteran and director of security at Snoqualmie, pointed out that active-shooting events have almost quadrupled over the past 20 years. As a result, he conducts weekly training with all of the casino’s new hires, as well.
“We’re not trying to scare them but to prepare them, and one of the things I harp on is that your work environment is no more dangerous than any other,” he said. “This training is something they can take wherever they go, to a movie theater, a concert or sporting event. It’s important to always be situationally aware and have a predetermined route so you can get out” in case of emergency.
Decorah said the Snoqualmie tribal police force cooperates with local and regional law enforcement during special events like concerts. Of course, a country-music concert was the setting of the deadly shooting spree in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017. In that case, a gunman unleashed a barrage of automatic weapon fire from a hotel room at Mandalay Bay, killing 58 people and injuring scores more.
A Global Threat
Safety drills are becoming essential as mass killings rise, in the U.S. and elsewhere, including at large and small gaming venues. Just last week, a gunman walked into a small casino near Santiago, Chile and opened fire, killing four men and one woman as gamblers dove for cover behind slot machines.
In 2017, a man identified as a disgruntled gambler entered Resorts World Manila in the Philippine capital and set fire to a second-floor gaming floor, killing three dozen patrons and staff members before shooting himself in a hotel room.
At last year’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, nine educational panels were devoted to security and surveillance; at the time, Timothy Donovan, executive vice president and general counsel at Caesars Entertainment, said the Mandalay Bay attack “made everybody step back and look at their security protocol, their security personnel and their security standards.”
In 2018, Caesars announced it would check guest rooms at its hotels every 24 hours, even those displaying a “Do Not Disturb” sign. Caesars said it would also test panic buttons for housekeeping personnel and increase security on guest floors. Similar plans are under way by gaming operators in jurisdictions around the world.
Casinos Responding
Rick Santoro, founder of Atlantic City-based security firm Interbrief.org and a certified terrorism-awareness instructor for the Department of Homeland Security and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, said casinos are often mistakenly viewed by the public as soft targets for violent attacks.
“In general, large casino operations have some advantage in terms of security because almost all of them employ full-time security forces that are extremely familiar with the layouts of the properties, what is normal behavior in the property and what are suspicious behaviors to look for.
“They all have full-time surveillance personnel. And almost all have some type of embedded law enforcement function—for example, in New Jersey the Division of Gaming Enforcement has plainclothes police in the property, and this jurisdiction also supplements with off-duty Atlantic City police. There is also a multitude of local, county, state and federal police that are regularly present in large casino environments.”
Even before the Las Vegas shooting, Santoro said, casino properties began to “organize, provide and offere active-shooter training resources, from civilian-grade” on up.
Active-shooter drills are “absolutely helpful,” Santoro said. They not only teach people how to react during an attack—run or hide if possible, and fight back if necessary—but also teach “pre-incident indicators,” such as social media rants that may indicate someone is contemplating violence.
When In Doubt, Take Action
He stressed that in a potential emergency, Americans—unlike people in other parts of the world—tend to seek validation of a crisis. That response could mean the difference between life and death.
“Without being disparaging, Americans by nature are lazy when it comes to emergency management decisions. Why would I sacrifice my clams casino if it’s a false alarm?
“If a fire alarm goes off in Europe, in Africa, in Ireland or Israel, people respond. But here we tend to wait for instructions. That’s not the right mindset in an active-shooter situation. You have a few seconds to make a decision, and you may not get an announcement over a PA system.”
In other words, he said, it’s far better to run from a building if you hear what sounds like gunfire than stick around to see if it’s real.
Roberts agreed. “When I bring in the new hires, I ask them how many folks have gone through active-shooter training, and usually 40 to 50 percent raise their hands. It’s encouraging, and also very sad, because it demonstrates the world in which we live.”
It’s a sign of the times, Decorah added. The training at the Snoqualmie Casino took place just days after 31 people were killed in mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
To Stay Safe, Be Prepared
In its free booklet, Active Shooter: How to Respond, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers these tips to stay safe in public places, and what to do in the presence of an active shooter:
Be aware of your environment and any possible dangers.
Take note of the two nearest exits in any facility you visit.
If you are in an office, stay there and secure the door.
If you are in a hallway, get into a room and secure the door.
As a last resort, attempt to take the active shooter down. When the shooter is at close range and you cannot flee, your chance of survival is much greater if you try to incapacitate him/her.
Call 911 when it’s safe to do so.
Run, Hide, Fight
Here are more tips from ready.gov. In case of an actual violent event:
- RUN and escape, if possible. Getting away from the shooter or shooters is the top priority. Leave your belongings behind and get away. Help others escape, if possible, but evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow. Warn and prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be. Call 911 when you are safe, and describe shooter, location, and weapons.
- HIDE, if escape is not possible. Get out of the shooter’s view and stay very quiet. Silence all electronic devices and make sure they won’t vibrate. Lock and block doors, close blinds, and turn off lights. Don’t hide in groups- spread out along walls or hide separately to make it more difficult for the shooter. Try to communicate with police silently. Use text message or social media to tag your location, or put a sign in a window. Stay in place until law enforcement gives you the all clear.
- FIGHT as an absolute last resort. Commit to your actions and act as aggressively as possible against the shooter. Recruit others to ambush the shooter with makeshift weapons like chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, books, etc. Be prepared to cause severe or lethal injury to the shooter. Throw items and improvise weapons to distract and disarm the shooter.
For more information on emergency preparedness, visit the website of the Department of Homeland Security at dhs.gov or ready.gov.
