Active shooters on college campuses: conflicting advice, roles of the individual and first responder, and the need to maintain perspective.

Since the tragic events at Columbine High School in April 1999, the terms “active shooter” and “active shooter on campus” have become part of the language of law enforcement, public and private school systems, and the news media. Following the mass shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in April 2007, the term “active shooter” quickly became part of the dialogue on safety and security of the nation’s colleges and universities. The broader discussion of campus security began in the wake of the terrorist assaults of September 11, 2001, when the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation referred to colleges and universities as soft, vulnerable targets to acts of terror.1