BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: Imagine if within 90 seconds all students, teachers and staff become safe from bullets during a school active shooter event? Ballistic protection is both possible and available.
During the development of an Active Shooter Response Plan for either schools or businesses, the first assumption is the time frame that one can expect for law enforcement and other first response team to arrival on scene and about how fast can these responders start to address the situation. Normally one should plan for a range of response times which, of course, is directly dependent on the current situation. Law enforcement will have some assets in patrol mode, probably already in vehicles, that can be rerouted immediately, and arrival will be based upon their initial location and routes. Most other first responders will depart from a fixed location and their normal travel times can be determined accurately, only affected by current local driving conditions. Arrival time on scene, for planning purposes, may be best if the plan takes the average time between the best and longest time. Then there will be some prep time on scene before engaging the threat. For example, a fire truck may arrive on the scene but takes 3 minutes to pull out the hoses, stretch them toward the fire while someone else is connecting a hose from the fire hydrant to the fire truck; then they are ready to fight the fire. Same type of requirement for entry or assault teams into an active shooter situation. Below is a sample from large cities with more resources and their average times for response:
| https://www.safesmartliving.com/average-police-response-time/ | ||
| City | Response Time | Year Reported |
| Nashville, TN | 5.4 minutes | 2019 |
| Boston, MA | 6.1 minutes | 2019 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 6.8 minutes | 2019 |
| Washington, D.C. | 6.9 minutes | 2018 |
| Seattle, WA | 7.0 minutes* | 2016 |
| New York City, NY | 7.7 minutes | 2021 |
| Dallas, TX | 8.0 minutes | 2017 |
| Miami, FL | 8.0 minutes | 2015 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 9.0 minutes | 2018 |
| Houston, TX | 10.0 minutes | 2018 |
| Atlanta, GA | 10.0 – 13.5 minutes | 2019 |
| Denver, CO | 11.6 minutes | 2019 |
| Detroit, MI | 14.5 minutes | 2018 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 20 minutes | 2021 |
| Chicago, IL | N/A ** | 2021 |
| * According to the Seattle Times, they are missing that mark when responding to certain areas and certain report types, including domestic violence. | ||
| **Chicago has a reputation for being a high crime city, and their police response times for priority 1 calls have been reported to be as quick as 3.46 minutes. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any recent statistics, nor an average response time across all 911 calls. And a report by ACLU Illinois indicates that there is significant disparity in priority response times across neighborhoods. In summary, given the outdated nature of the report, and lack of statistical data, we have not published a time for Chicago. |
Now a look at recent school shooting events including the time from first alert of an active shooter event until law enforcement arrival on the scene and time before direct action was initiated to stop the active shooter:
| Event | # of Victims | Total time of event | Initial contact | Police arrival | Police contact/ entered | End of event |
| Columbine * | 13 | 13 min | 11:19 am | 2 mins | 12:08 pm | |
| Sandy Hook* | 26 | 9:35 am | 20 min | 6 mins | ||
| Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Parkland) * | 17 | 2:21 pm | 2:32 pm | 2:38 pm | 1 hr later | |
| Uvalde ** | 21 | 11:30 am | 11:35 am | 1:06 pm | ||
| * https://www.newsweek.com/how-police-response-times-compare-school-shootings-since-columbine-1711038 | ||||||
| ** https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/27/us/uvalde-shooting-police-response-timeline/index.html |
The VAST6 provides maximum security after everyone in the room enters the shelter and the door is secured, probably in 90 seconds or less. In every active shooter event, especially in schools, how many lives would be saved if this capability was embraced. The VAST6 takes this metric of time where every second counts and, after 90 seconds, greatly reduces the critical dilemma of action time, non-action time or timely tactical response. If the first responders arrive on scene after the first 90 seconds, a critical capability could already be in place and doing its job of protection of human life.
Why not investigate how FEMA grant funding can provide this type and level of protection?
