Beslan In America, Part 3: What To Do If An Attack Occurs

Beslan In America, Part 1

Beslan In America, Part 2



As the old saying goes, "Our children are our future". When it comes to our children, most parents will do anything to keep them safe. When our children are threatened, we tend to disregard anything resembling normal courses of action, dropping everything to come to their aid. It is our natural instinct.

The chances that your local school will come under attack are remote. With the tens of thousands of elementary and middle schools across the country, being overly paranoid about such an attack would be akin to playing the lottery. There is a difference between being paranoid and being prepared and walking that line can save you and your child's life.

In the event of an attack at one of our nation's schools, terrorists will rely on these parental instincts and use them to their advantage. They would count on parents, as well as the media, to converge on the school en mass. Although it goes against everything you do and feel as a parent, you cannot just drop everything and run to protect your child. There are, however thing you can do to protect your child.

The following is a good guideline to follow in preparing and dealing with a terrorist attack. My thanks goes out to the fine people at The National Terror Alert Response Center for the following information.

What You Can Do As A Parent

Most importantly, plan now. Take the necessary steps today that will ensure you and your family’s safety.

Be Alert …Get An Alert

The sooner you are aware that a terror attack is underway, the sooner you can react and the greater your chance for staying safe. We strongly recommend that you subscribe to an Emergency Alert Notification service and keep your mobile phone, text pager or PDA with you at all times.

We use and recommend Alerts USA. Yes, we advertise on this site for them and there’s a reason. Their alert notification service is in our opinion, beyond comparison. The system alerts you regardless of location, with near real-time notification of terrorist attacks, threats, warnings and advisories. The alert is sent directly to your cell phone, text pager or PDA and is available on any mobile device, on any network, anywhere in the United States. This is the same alert used by many government agencies, law enforcement and counter-terrorism organizations. (see the list on the Alerts USA website)

If an attack is underway, whether it’s in a school, a mall, a subway or any other location, one of the best safeguards you can have is an early notification.

When you receive an alert…ACT IMMEDIATELY.

Create a Plan

Preparing for a potential terrorist strike provides you your best chance of survival in the event an attack actually takes place. Preparedness should always be considered in the home, school and workplace for any unexpected event.

Keep Current Authorizations On File

Most schools will only allow an authorized family member or guardian to pick up a child from school. Be sure to have all authorization forms signed and registered with the school. Be sure that the school has updated information about how to reach parents and responsible caregivers to arrange for pickup. And, ask what type of authorization the school may require to release a child to someone you designate, if you are not able to pick up your child. During times of emergency the school telephones may be overwhelmed with calls.

Designate A “Point” person

Next, establish a plan for picking up your child in the event of an actual attack. Who is the closest “point of contact” authorized to pick up your child? It needs to be someone who is prepared to drop everything at a moments notice and proceed to the school immediately when notified.

If you work some distance from the school, find someone closer. The moment an alert goes out or you hear that a school somewhere has been seized or is under attack, activate your plan and above all, remain calm.

What To Do If An Attack Takes Place

If it’s your child’s school…

This will go against every instinct that you have as a parent but if it’s your child’s school that has been attacked, DO NOT GO TO THE SCHOOL. Terrorist’s plans that have been uncovered show they are counting on you showing up along with the news media. When you arrive it’s very likely that you’ll be greeted by car bombs strategically placed within the school parking lot, sniper fire, or worse.

This is not a normal crime scene and law enforcement will most likely need to take immediate tactical action. That action may include live fire and engagement with the terrorists. Your presence will only slow down deployment during a very critical time.

In a Beslan type attack, law enforcement knows the terrorists have no exit strategy. They have come with a single intent. Stay away and let law enforcement do what they are trained to do.

If it’s NOT your child’s school that has been attacked

Immediately after being alerted, contact your child using a pre-determined code on a cell phone or pager. Don’t tell your child that this is related to a terrorist attack. Your child should be taught in advance that whenever they receive a call from you using this code, they should politely excuse themselves from the classroom and go to a designated location to be picked up. Be calm, keep your child calm.

Next, contact the school and ask to speak to the person in charge of releasing students. (You should already have the number programmed into you phone) Inform the school that an unexpected situation has come up and you will need to pick up your child immediately. Let the administrator know that you have already paged your child to let them know you or the person you have authorized is on their way.

Have your child picked up and leave the area without delay. When picking your child up, observe what is going on in around the school. If you see suspicious behavior, do not confront the individuals involved.

Take note of the details:

S – Size (Jot down the number of people, gender, ages, and physical descriptions)
A – Activity (Describe exactly what they are doing)
L – Location (Provide exact location)
U – Uniform (Describe what they are wearing, including shoes)
T – Time (Provide date, time, and duration of activity)
E – Equipment (Describe vehicle, make, color etc., license plate, camera, guns, etc)

Suspicious activity is often recalled after an event. We must train ourselves to be on the lookout for things that are out of the ordinary and arouse suspicions.

Report details To Law Enforcement Immediately

You will also need to make some decisions based upon your own circumstances and the situation.

What will you do if school has already been informed of the event and is in lock-down, or in the process of being locked down? Find out your schools plans for such an event and make sure that other families are informed through PTA, etc.

Should you alert the school to the potential threat? Chances are your child’s school will not come under attack and pulling them out would only be out of an abundance of caution. This determination can only be made as the situation presents itself.

Since Columbine, most, if not schools, have contingency plans in case of a school shooting situation, which includes lockdown procedures, alerting law enforcement, etc. After the Columbine shootings, Columbus (Ohio) Police SWAT developed what is known as QUick Action Deployment, or QUAD. It was developed as a tactical response method for patrol officers in the event of an active shooter scenario. Early in my career I was privileged to be personally trained by Columbus SWAT in this. All of this is not enough, though. There are additional steps that need to be taken by school administrators to help deter any kind of attack.

Dave Grossman wrote an excellent article about what school administrators can do to shore up school security. You can read that article here.

Remember, vigilence and planning are the key in detering a terror attack on our schools. You are the front line in this part of the war on terror. It is a war we must win.

Beslan In America, Part 2: Changing The Mindset of Americans

I carry a gun. My job says I must carry a gun, and with a few exceptions, 24/7. I think guns are good in the right hands.

Statistics have shown that in states where carry-concealed laws are in place, crime has declined. The reasoning behind this is simple: Bad guys like easy targets. If some low life idiot wants to try to rob someone, he doesn't want resistance. If he thinks that a potential mark may be armed, chances are he'll move on to another.

Terrorists probe. They scope. They do their homework, gather intelligence, and find easy targets. Their goal isn't confrontation, it's striking terror in the victim's hearts. This is where our weakness is in school security and where guns would balance things out.

Anywhere you go, in any state, you see signs around schools denoting that it is a gun-free (And yes, drug free) zone. This has always struck me as a big advertisement for people with ill intentions: Come on in, we can't defend ourselves. There are very few schools in the United States that have armed security. They are mostly confined to large urban area schools with gang problems. Smaller schools in rural areas are more than likely not going to have any armed security, unless they happen to have a school resource officer or DARE officer.

In the absence of armed officers, I am wholly in favor of teachers being trained and going armed. The arguments against doing so are flawed and we won't discuss or debate this issue here. Just think about this for a moment: If only one teacher at Columbine High School had been armed, chances are the outcome would have been very different. I am not under the illusion that no one would have been injured or killed, but the casualties would have been minimal. One armed teacher, well trained with a side arm, could have eliminated the threat of two shooters in short order.

Just think of the advantage of having all teachers armed in any school. You basically have a platoon of armed soldiers. Even in small schools you would have ten to twenty teachers plus support staff.

At Beslan School Number One, there were 59 teachers plus a number of other staff. The Muslim terrorists who sieged the school numbered approximately 32. The terrorists were outnumbered 2 to 1. I think that the situation would have been much different if the teachers and support staff were armed and trained.

I also believe that armed parents should be welcomed at schools. We have to change our mindset when it comes to schools and guns. We cannot think of guns as something that just jumps up and kills people. Sure, there is a chance that someone with ill-intentions will come onto school grounds armed, but that has always been a possibility. When the good guys outnumber the bad guys it shouldn't be much of a concern. The concern, as I am trying to lay out, is multiple targets with ill intentions and the ability of someone to eliminate, or at least severely limit, the threat.

In my personal time, you will more than likely find me armed. This is the case even when I just run to the store to get some milk. I go to church armed. Unless it is practically impossible to go out armed, Mr. Glock and I usually have a date.

For those who cannot or will not go armed, there are things you can do also. There is an old saying in law enforcement: It is better to be a good witness than just another statistic.

We no longer live in an age where just a single school shooter is possible. That world is forever gone after 9/11. We have to start thinking in terms of small arms combat, close-quartered, on American soil, in our own backyard. To do otherwise is not only foolish but naive.

In part 3 I will discuss what to do and what not to do in case of a hostile takeover of a school.

Part 3: What to do if an attack occurs

Beslan In America, Part 1: Lessons Learned From Russia

I know that I have pounded away at this, almost ad-nauseam, for the last few weeks. This is important, though. Please bear with me while I try to get people to see the light.

From everything I've read, the perfect day scenario has been sugar-coated. As a matter of fact, it seems that anything terror related is glossed over and sugar-coated. I believe this has a negative effect on the way the American public prepares for any type of terror related incident. This is bad. It is going to cause a lot of casualties when (Not if) an attack does occur.

When the Beslan siege occurred, the world was not told the whole story. What we were told was that Chechen separatists had taken over 1200 children and women hostage. In the end, we were told that over 300 of them died as a result of an explosion and fire when Russian Spetsnaz stormed the school. This is not correct, at least not completely.

The true story was that the Chechen separatists were Muslim, and there is strong evidence that this particular group was being backed and/or supported by Al-Qaeda. Also, while true that Spetsnaz did storm the school, they only did so after one of the explosive devices detonated. One part of the story that was really glossed over was what these "Freedom Fighters" did to the children.

The media and the government walk a fine line when it comes to information. On one hand, the information has to get out to the masses. On the other hand, you don't want panic and chaos to rule the day. To this end, both media and government have a tendency to give facts, but not all the facts. I also know that political correctness plays a large role in reporting, especially when it comes to Muslim terrorists.

Now that the stage has been set, it is time for some brutal honesty.

If, God forbid, this does come to fruition, children will die. We cannot stop that once the siege has started. What we can do is prepare and keep the casualties as low as possible. By preparing, I'm talking about everyone; Fire, police, schools, school boards, parents, and anyone who lives near a school.

There are lessons that we have learned from the Beslan siege, and these lessons are not pretty.

First of all they will kill any adult male, as well as any younger male who may be old enough or big enough to resist. If anyone, including women and small children, try to run they will be shot and killed. The next step will be for the terrorists to fortify the perimeter and wiring explosive devices to prevent a quick action deployment by law enforcement.

Terrorists will not negotiate. Although they may appear to want negotiations of some kind, their intent is not to trade off. They will use this tactic to buy time, and for many reasons. One, it will give them a chance to "dig in". By digging in I mean organizing the hostages into manageable groups (Women, children, elderly) and separate them.

Once the terrorists have set the perimeter and have everyone under control, the real horror begins. They will deny their hostages food and water. The Beslan siege lasted for a little over three days in hot weather. Water became such an issue that children resorted to drinking their own urine. They were not allowed to go to the bathroom and had to relieve themselves where they were.

If any child, or adult for that matter, cried incessantly, they were shot and killed in front of the others. To discourage others from crying, the terrorists held the corpses in front of the children.

The female children were raped. After some had been raped they were killed and thrown out of windows. Actually, most, if not all, that were killed were thrown out windows. This has a chilling effect on bystanders and that is one goal of terrorists.

The Beslan siege ended when one of the terrorists accidentally detonated one of the explosive devices. When the explosion occurred it caused enough chaos and cover that hostages made a run for it. When this happened Spetsnaz stormed the school, first gathering any of the hostages they could while identifying the bad guys and either killing them or taking them into custody. This was not the way it was supposed to end. The end result was to execute all hostages, then set off the devices as the school was stormed.
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We have good intelligence that such an attack is being planned here. Unlike Beslan, though, the attack here will probably be a multi-target, time coordinated effort. American military personnel have uncovered training videos from Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan that show this is being planned. They also discovered that some targets had already been reconned in Texas, New Jersey, and other places. We also have uncovered training compounds here in America where school buses have been used for training by terrorists.

The targets will be schools in rural or remote areas. Areas such as these have small town police departments without many internal resources. They would have to rely on larger outside agencies for reinforcements and tactical teams. This would be an ideal scenario for the terrorists, as it would give them enough time to fortify their mission.

There have been reports of "dry runs" in various area of the country. One such incident happened in Florida, where two middle-eastern men boarded a school bus. These dry runs don't mean that an incident is imminent, but that the bad guys are probing.

Like any well trained soldier, the terrorists will perform surveillance runs on schools and school buses. This is called reconnaissance, or Recon. This is where the public and parents come in. Trust your gut and report ANYTHING that seems suspicious or out of the ordinary. If these terrorists find that people are alert and willing to inform the authorities, they may just move on to an easier target.

In part 2 I will discuss in more detail of what can be done to deter an attack.

Part 2: Changing the mindset of Americans

Bomb Threat Closes Schools in 12 New Jersey Towns

Read from FoxNews here.

Obviously, the superintendent watches or listens to Glenn Beck, or at least knows what the perfect day is. That's good, but the terrorists aren't going to phone in a bomb threat. That would be like me calling a bank and telling them I'm going to rob it, and then actually try to rob it.

At least this school district is on the ball.

Suspicious Activities At California Fire Stations

Since July, there have been several reports of suspicious activities at various fire stations in California. A few of the incidents can be found at National Terror Alert.

One of the tactics of terrorists is to disable or severely limit response by first responders (Police, Fire, EMS, etc.) to be able to carry out their mission with maximum results. Recon is always necessary before the front-line troops hit an area in order to gain valuable intelligence. Islamic terrorists are no yahoos. They know exactly what they are doing. We should know what THEY are doing as well and be on guard for any suspicious activity.

Of course, the FBI will probably issue a press release, something to the effect of "Oh, they are just innocent people who have a love for ugly and plain architecture".

Two Passengers Arrested at Raleigh-Durham Airport Following Plane Disturbance

Two people were arrested Friday at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport after causing a disturbance.

American Eagle Flight 4518, en route from Jacksonville to RDU, was diverted from its assigned gate to a remote area of the airport after the flight crew radioed ahead for police. What exactly happened has not been disclosed, but it was classified as a 'Serious Terror Threat". Apparently, the FBI is now saying, basically, that it was all just one big misunderstanding.

Yeah, right.

Although the information being released by the FBI is playing down any serious threat, my gut tells me that in order for there to be a response such as listed, it must have appeared pretty serious. Of course, the FBI downplays any incident that smells of terrorism or terroristic threats.

A good example is the Joel Heinrichs case. He was the student who prematurely detonated a bomb outside of the University of Oklahoma football stadium back in 2006. Heinrichs was rigged with a backpack full of TATP, a particularly nasty substance that makes C4 look like fireworks. Despite the fact that Heinrichs was a Muslim convert and evidence showed that he was connected to a mosque which subscribed to the Jihad of Al-Qaeda, and other evidence showed he may have been part of a larger plot that fizzled when he prematurely ejaculated, the FBI stated that it was an isolated incident and that it was not connected to Islam whatsoever.

Either the FBI thinks that A: We are unable to bear the stress of a terror incident, B: we are stupid, or C: They are afraid to offend anyone.

My guess would be C.