How to Run Active Shooter Drills at Work
Learn about the various types of active shooter drills, pros and cons, and what experts say about emergency preparedness for an active shooter scenario.
Tragically, gun violence continues to impact American communities across the U.S. In 2024, there were 503 mass shootings.
When we think of active shooter events, we typically think of CNN coverage of standoffs with police officers and barricades, violent confrontations in crowded bars, and lasting impressions from highly publicized tragedies—such as the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the attack on concertgoers in Las Vegas, Nevada. These incidents raise lasting debates about mental health, security, and the well-being of educators, students, and others. Analyzing nationwide active shooter data also highlights that the impact of gun violence is felt broadly and reinforces that active shooter incidents can happen anywhere.
Lawmakers in certain U.S. states, such as California, are taking legal steps to tackle the increase in violence, including rising occurrences of mass shootings. SB 553, signed into law in 2023, establishes new requirements for employers to protect workers from workplace violence.
Although no company wants to consider the potential for an active shooter incident at their workplace, accounting for these events in your safety plans has the potential to save lives. In addition to creating an active shooter response plan, law enforcement officers and experts agree that introducing some form of active shooter training at work is best practice and ensures that employees understand what to do when faced with the threat of an armed individual on the premises. Just as fire drills are standard, active shooter preparedness must be part of your emergency action plan (EAP).
This post will examine the various types of active shooter drills, including the pros and cons of each. Finding the appropriate kind of exercise for your business is crucial for protecting your employees. Whether you have remote employees in the vicinity of an active shooter event or your workplace is in direct danger, instituting regular active shooter drills will help prepare your employees to understand what to do.
How to Conduct an Active Shooter Drill at Work
1. Develop a detailed active shooter response plan
Before conducting active shooter drills, your company needs to design a thorough active shooter response plan. While creating this plan, consider potential threats, evacuation routes, and communication methods, among other unique considerations for your business.
As you develop a comprehensive plan for active shooter incidents:
- Conduct a physical security assessment to pinpoint key weaknesses within your workplace
- Train employees to notice and report potential threats
- Create a crisis communication plan (a multichannel two-way emergency communication system makes this easy)
- Identify strategic evacuation routes and shelter locations within the workplace
- Rehearse active shooter drills and lockdown procedures
- Follow up after an incident with a modern employee notification system so you can issue updates and determine the safety of all employees
2. Decide what type of drill to run
Lockdown procedure drill
Ever since the threat of nuclear warfare during the Cold War Era, students and adults alike have become familiarized with the lockdown drill. This classic drill has long been the go-to training method against external threats.
- Secure all exits and windows for an additional barrier to prevent access.
- Block doors, close blinds, and turn off exterior lights to remain inconspicuous.
- Using a mass notification system, notify all your employees of the situation and make sure they are all accounted for.
- Continue regular business activity inside the building, but do not allow anyone to enter the facility.
- Call the police to gather more information about the scenario. Notify authorities of your lockdown status and ask for updates and an all-clear once the situation has ended.
Although this method is still standard in most elementary and secondary schools, it is often ineffective in the workplace. Critics of the lockdown method argue that this form of drill leaves employees as helpless sitting ducks. Since grown adults are more capable of taking action in the face of danger than young children, this method is often deprioritized in business settings.
While the lockdown method may not be appropriate in some cases, staying put and hiding can be the answer in an active shooter situation, especially if the active shooter is off-site but close to the business. If an event unfolds outside your workplace, it is often best to remain in your secure building. You will be safest inside your facility by locking up doors, drawing shutters, and turning off lights.
The tactical shooter drill
With active shooter events rising, specialized services support tactical shooter drills in workplace settings. These drills simulate real-life scenarios with an actor as a shooter to offer realistic tactical training.
- Contact a professional company that offers tactical shooter training services. These companies typically teach the “run, hide, fight” response by putting employees in a lifelike drill.
- Decide whether a surprise or a pre-announced drill best suits your company’s needs. Experts recommend pre-announced exercises to prevent unnecessary psychological trauma.
- Conduct the drill. A designated person from an external company or within your own business will act as an active shooter. The business determines the extent of the role-playing (i.e., actors will shoot blanks or walk around with a fake gun).
- Following the drill, meet with your employees to discuss weaknesses, strategies, and possible improvements.
This is a safety drill that offers the most realistic training for your employees. It is as close as it gets to the real active shooter scenario. By being placed in a controlled, high-pressure situation, employees can learn how to react in high-stress situations, which could save their lives if something occurs.
Although tactical drills can prove effective in specific scenarios, active shooter drills can also show potential shooters from the company exactly what you would do in an emergency. They can use this information to their advantage by blocking major exits or targeting security guards before an attack. Since one in five shootings at work is carried out by employees, this is a significant concern. Critics also argue that such active shooter drills can create a dangerous sense of security and the assumption that all active shooter scenarios are the same. Instead, in an active shooter situation, employees should rely on their intuition and situational awareness to make the best call.
3. Debrief with employees
Following an active shooter drill, sit down with your employees and reflect upon the training. By debriefing after the drill, your company can identify potential weaknesses in the response plan and strategies to improve. Efficiency is vital in these types of exercises, as it is with real-time emergency responses.
Additionally, you can take a trauma-informed approach to this after-action review to gauge and address any trauma your employees may have faced during the drill. Work with human resources and use feedback to adjust future drills and minimize employee mental state impacts. By providing employees with the proper resources to cope with such factors (tailored to your workplace culture, environment, and individual needs), they will appreciate that your company fulfills its duty of care.
Enhance Your Active Shooter Drills with Educational Resources and Training
An effective active shooter drill in the workplace hinges on more than just a well-scripted scenario—it requires employees to understand why the drill matters, what actions to take, and how to communicate critical information under pressure. To bridge that gap, organizations must invest in educational resources and practical training programs, such as active shooter tabletop exercises, that build awareness and readiness long before a threat occurs.
Fortunately, a wide range of training courses, public safety campaigns, and law enforcement-led seminars are available to help businesses prepare their teams.
Types and formats of active shooter training
Organizations can choose from several training formats, each designed to maximize retention and relevance:
| Instructor-led training sessions offer the benefit of real-time interaction and hands-on practice. These in-person training sessions, often led by certified instructors with law enforcement or security backgrounds, allow employees to walk through realistic scenarios, ask questions, and receive immediate feedback. |
| eLearning options, including certificated modules, provide flexible, self-paced learning that participants can access anytime, anywhere. These modules often include engaging video simulations, knowledge checks, and policy reviews that reinforce company-specific emergency protocols. |
| Blended training combines the best of both worlds—online coursework followed by an on-site class or live virtual session where participants apply their knowledge in more interactive settings. This format is ideal for large or distributed teams seeking scalability and realism. |
| A virtual training calendar can also help organizations schedule regular refreshers, compliance-required updates, or supplemental drills, ensuring employee readiness remains high throughout the year. |
Regardless of the format, practical training should cover:
- Recognizing warning signs of potential violence
- Executing the “Run. Hide. Fight.” protocol under realistic conditions
- Reporting incidents quickly and clearly to emergency services
- Coordinating with local first responders and 911 dispatchers
Many programs also focus on helping employees relay key details that support an effective emergency response. During a crisis, a caller to 911 should be prepared to share calmly:
- The specific location of the incident
- The number of people present and the number of injured
- Descriptions of the assailant(s), including clothing, physical features, and any known identity
- Types of weapons observed and the nature of any injuries
- Any details overheard or seen that may help locate the shooter or assess intent
By reinforcing these specifics through guided instruction, interactive workshops, and repeated practice, businesses can significantly improve employee confidence and the overall effectiveness of their workplace active shooter drills.
To deepen employee engagement, consider integrating active shooter scenarios into routine safety training and making educational content—such as videos, checklists, and digital guides—available on internal platforms. Many organizations also coordinate with local law enforcement to conduct on-site training, enabling participants to ask questions and understand first responders’ protocols during a live incident.
Ultimately, the goal is not just to complete an active shooter drill, but to ensure that every participant walks away with life-saving knowledge and the ability to act under stress. Investing in educational resources transforms these drills from procedural exercises into moments of genuine preparedness.
5 Active Shooter Drill Scenarios to Strengthen Preparedness
To make active shooter drills in the workplace impactful, businesses must move beyond generic simulations and create scenarios that reflect the complexity of real-life threats. Incorporating scripted injects—unexpected events or decision points—into each drill forces participants to think critically, adapt quickly, and coordinate effectively under pressure.
Below are five customizable active shooter drill scenarios with sample injects to elevate your training.
Scenario 1: Disgruntled employee in a controlled access facility
Overview:
A recently terminated employee re-enters the building through a side door, opening fire in the customer service wing.
Objectives:
- Test lockdown procedures
- Evaluate 911 reporting protocols
- Practice coordination with local law enforcement
Injects:
- A witness gives an incomplete clothing description of the shooter.
- The shooter moves floors during the drill, requiring updates to the specific location.
- A manager attempts to confront the assailant instead of evacuating.
- The fire alarm is accidentally triggered, conflicting with the shelter-in-place order.
- A 911 dispatcher requests information on types of weapons and number of injured—participants must respond clearly under stress.
Scenario 2: Active shooter in a multi-tenant office building
Overview:
An active shooter enters a shared office lobby, firing shots as tenants are arriving for work.
Objectives:
- Test inter-organizational coordination
- Assess the ability to manage mass notification systems
- Practice assembly point verification
Injects:
- A neighboring business mistakenly shares the incorrect shooter identity via a public message.
- Some employees flee to another company’s workspace, triggering confusion.
- Security cameras go offline during the event.
- Dispatchers request details about the number of people in the building.
- An injured employee calls 911 but cannot identify their location beyond “a hallway.”
Scenario 3: Holiday party event at company headquarters
Overview:
A shooter conceals a weapon during a company holiday party attended by staff, guests, and vendors.
Objectives:
- Evaluate communication procedures with non-employees
- Test mass notification platforms and accounting for visitors
- Reinforce response coordination during events
Injects:
- A visitor doesn’t receive any alert due to insufficient enrollment in emergency notification systems.
- A party attendee hides in a storage closet and texts conflicting updates about the shooter’s location.
- The shooter uses a disguise, complicating the identification of physical features.
- There is a delay in reaching 911 due to call volume.
- Medical response is delayed—participants must triage based on the types of injuries.
Scenario 4: Remote campus with limited emergency infrastructure
Overview:
An active shooter is reported on a rural worksite or campus with limited on-site security or local law enforcement response time.
Objectives:
- Test autonomous decision-making
- Practice incident command handoff
- Reinforce life-saving first aid procedures
Injects:
- Communications tower disruption delays mass notifications.
- Two team members argue over whether to barricade or escape.
- A call to 911 includes confusion over specific location names.
- The shooter flees the scene before law enforcement arrives—teams must shift to active search mode.
- Participants must assess types of injuries and administer first aid using on-site kits.
Scenario 5: Hybrid workday with in-office and remote employees
Overview:
A violent intruder accesses the office while many employees are working remotely and tuning into an all-hands video meeting.
Objectives:
- Coordinate communication across on-site and virtual channels
- Test the crisis communication team activation
- Practice remote lockdown communication
Injects:
- A remote participant sees the shooter on a shared camera feed and calls 911.
- The incident is live-streamed briefly before systems are shut down.
- A remote worker alerts the wrong group, delaying internal response.
- Conflicting reports arise between in-office and remote witnesses.
- HR must assist law enforcement in identifying the shooter based on the shooter’s identity and personnel records.
The Debate Surrounding Active Shooter Drills at Work
Before examining various active shooter drill methods, we must explore the larger debate surrounding these drills. While there is growing support for organizations conducting active shooter training, there are also arguments against active shooter drills in the workplace.
Argument #1: Active shooter incidents are rare, so training isn’t necessary
Even though active shooter events are becoming more common, they are still rare compared to other threats businesses might face.
Until the mid-2000s, organizations’ physical security efforts primarily focused on preventing theft. However, as the volume of active shooter incidents in the workplace has increased, business leaders have grown increasingly concerned about their physical security and the safety of employees. Recent research found that nearly four in five company leaders feel their organization isn’t fully prepared for an active shooter incident. As a point of comparison, more than 95% of American elementary schools and public high schools have already implemented active shooter drills to enhance school safety, according to a report by Everytown for Gun Safety. Following events like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, when six staff members and 20 kids aged 6–7 were killed, schools have committed to proactive planning and drills. But more mass shootings occur at businesses than K–12 schools, and it’s broadly accepted that the majority of private companies lack any formal active shooter training.
Statistically, your business is much more likely to be impacted by regional hazards, such as a wildfire, hurricane, or severe winter storm, than by an active shooter. For that reason, some companies have avoided active shooter training due to concerns about potential psychological stress resulting from these types of emergency drills. These concerns are not without merit.
Argument #2: Active shooter drills put undue mental stress on employees
Mental health professionals have found that active shooter drills in schools have resulted in increases in depression (39%), stress and anxiety (42%), and overall physiological health problems (23%). While much of this research has focused on the impact of active shooter drills in public schools, some employers worry that past trauma may resurface for employees by conducting such exercises, or they might become fearful of coming to work.
Despite the potential for unnecessary trauma, certain businesses deem active shooter preparedness drills as an essential step in preparing for active shooter events. At least 60% of active shooter events end before first responders or local law enforcement arrive. Ultimately, your business must evaluate its needs and values to decide the utility of an active shooter drill at your workplace.
Alternatives to an Active Shooter Drill
Active shooters can be countered by methods other than active shooter drills. Alternatives to these drills focus on the prevention and identification of risk factors. For example, situational awareness training helps employees notice warning signs of potentially violent behavior in coworkers. By conditioning your employees to say something if they see something, you decrease the risk of being surprised by a violent act.
Another popular and effective measure is increasing your workplace’s physical security. Keycard locks, strong doors, and security cameras can provide a physical deterrent and defense against active shooters.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure—and even more when preparing for workplace violence. The best way to handle an office shooter is to aim to prevent violent actions in the first place. Workplace violence prevention programs focus on creating a harmonious environment where every employee feels welcome and does not tolerate any violence or harassment. Many workplace shootings are preceded by bullying and ostracization, so limiting those feelings can also limit the risk of violence.
Comprehensive Preparedness for Active Shooter Scenarios
Hoping for the best isn’t the same as being prepared. Employees must know how to quickly adapt if a lockdown situation evolves into an evacuation situation. As long as active shooter incidents remain an ongoing risk, you should factor these risks into your threat assessment programs.
As you assess ways to improve overall preparedness and active shooter emergency plans at your organization, consider a combination of strategies to ensure employees are fully prepared for any active shooter scenario. Finally, by providing employees the time to read informational pamphlets on what to do in active shooter scenarios and rehearsing lockdown and tactical drills, you will further equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to respond.
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