Albany Preparing Community for Potential Active Shooter Situations

Not even a month after the incident at Crossgates Mall, and just days after the active shooter at Ohio State, Albany is preparing the community for what to do in similar situations.

A recent study shows what people tend to do when confronted with the sound of gunshots or the sight of an active shooter. While we saw the security footage from Crossgates show people running as fast and as far as they could, sometimes that may be the wrong course of action to take. The study shows that most people actually, instead of fleeing from the sight of the gunshot, will run right towards it. A lot of confusion and fear enters the mind in that moment, naturally.

The other thing people tend to do is just freeze up, which is no better. Unlike the situation we saw at Crossgates, other scenarios can involve a shooter with no motive -- someone who doesn't have a target. This can make everything 10 times scarier.

“For the most part, people just freeze when they hear gunshots. What we found in studies is that people tend to run toward the gunshot in the pandemonium that ensues,” Warren Clark, the President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau in Upstate New York, said. - NEWS 10

What they are advising as being the best course of action in a tricky situation like this is exactly what we have been hearing post-Ohio State. Which is: "Run, Fight, Hide."

Run if you can, hide if you can’t run, and as a last resort, fight. - NEWS 10