“It always seems things happen to other people. We make dua, feel sorry for them and move on. We get numbed by the tragedies we see and hear everyday. Sometimes life's reality has to hit closer for it to shake our existence,” Adileh Sharieff wrote in a note, sent to all her friends and family after the school shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Americans are 25 times more likely to die by gunshot than anywhere else in the developed world, according to a 2010 study by the World Health Organization.
"Compared to the rest of the world, “ninety percent of women, 91 percent of children aged 0 to 14 years, 92 percent of youth aged 15 to 24 years, and 82 percent of all people killed by firearms were from the United States,” reads the report.
Almost a million students have walked out of school across the nation over gun control.
When the tragedy in the high school in Florida happened, Sharieff says her circle of friends mourned the loss, hugged our kids and life continued on. Then a rash of threats were made in Montgomery County.
“In Montgomery County, in Clarksburg to be exact, a student was caught with a gun in school,” she said. Shaking with uncertainty and helplessness, she thought about what this meant for her personally. "I know those kids. Some of those [sic] I have watched grow up. What if something happened to them? What can I do?” the mother of two asked herself.
The next morning, as Sharieff was getting ready for work, she recieved a text from a co-worker. "There is a social media threat at our daughters’ school, what are "you" going to do?” blinked the letters on her screen.
Her analytical mind went numb, as she skimmed through the messages and emails from the school and parents: "Probably a hoax.”
"What if it wasn’t?"
"Probably some kid had a test".
“Will she be able to run, her asthma was acting up?”
"OMG, all the kids I know: the community kids, my Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts from camp..... “ As these thoughts raced through her mind, the normally staid engineer, who is a director in a large firm, panicked.
In that moment, she thought about the active shooter training offered by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) last year. “I wished I had taken this training a year ago when I first heard about it. I wished I had shared it with my community, so all the kids could attend,” she thought.
“If there were one message to get across, what would I send?” she asked herself.
How can we position ourselves to be prepared?
Reaching out to the CAIR office in Maryland, she brought the training to her masjid- the Islamic Center of Maryland in Gaithersburg.
Before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) workshop is presented to the community, Zainab Chaudry of CAIR thoroughly vets the content. Trainings have been conducted at the Sunday School in Islamic Society of Baltimore and at Masjid An Nur in White Marsh, MD.
The ICM library was teeming with parents, grandparents and a large number of young people on a chilly February evening.
James Finney, a burly local Protective Security Advisor (PSA) from DHS, conducted the preparedness workshop.
The DHS defines an “active shooter” as someone with a gun engaged in killing or trying to kill people in a confined and populated place.
Most of the training was common sense advice and focused on planning and communication: Look out for escape route or exit wherever you are. If you hear gunfire, you should head to the nearest exit as soon as you safely can.
Finney recommended that organizations should have protocols. Relating experiences from his own church, he urged those who are leading prayers and regular musallees and attendees should be trained.
"You need to know all the answers and have primary alternative contingents," he said.
Experts say that if you think you are in the gunman’s line of sight, run in a zigzag, or from cover to cover. If you cannot run, then hide.
Every family should have an emergency plan, a communication plan. How would inform each other that you are safe? Where will we meet afterwards?
A short video displaying an active shooter scenario was shown to the library full of people. The Department of Homeland Security trainer spoke about the Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan Guide— a virtual training tool designed to help develop an organization’s Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan.
“What if there are two shooters,” asked Yousuf Siddiqui, a fifth grader after watching the video. “Excellent question. Be prepared for the worst,” said Finney.
Finney suggested that every institution should have a Master key, a memo on who to call first in case of an emergency and all this should be in a “go bag.” Local law enforcement should know what the bag is in your facility. Each building should have its own “go bag,” he advised.
Run Hide Fight
“Active shooter incidents are often unpredictable and evolve quickly, said the PSA.
In the midst of the chaos, anyone can play an integral role in mitigating the impacts of an active shooter incident. 'Have a warrior mentality,” said Finney.
“If you can run get away,” he said. “Leave your belongings behind.”
“Hide, if you can’t get out safely.” Be quiet and secure a hiding place, silence your cell phone. Try to conceal yourself behind large object.
“Fight is our last resort,” he said. Throw whatever you can to fight: books, a vase, a purse, and scissors.
“This chair,” yelled Venezia, a 10th grader who came with her grand mother. “I learned what to do in an emergency,” she said confidently, after the training.
Some attendees expected a tactical training with mock gunfire and lockdown scenarios. Most came prepared to learn techniques but left with deeper questions about how well their masajid and Islamic Schools and Centers were prepared for such a scenario. How many had developed an emergency action plan?
Have a Warrior Mindset
Finney said that most armed aggressors are untrained but some have military training like the Navy Yard shooters.
The attendees learnt that a plan doesn’t have to complicated. People should know where to run to and how to evacuate, getting out of harm’s way and preventing others from going into the danger zone.
“Prepared,” stated most participants. Other said empowered, aware and informed.
Others still many questions. “I am concerned about our masjid; I don’t see our leadership here,” she said looking around the room. “What if something happened? Do we have a protocol at work?” she wondered about her place of employment.
“What I heard today was very different from the training we received at the school I substitute at,” said an attendee from the Islamic Society of Germantown. "Law enforcement trains from their point of view," explained Finney. He encouraged her to ask her school to get in touch with DHS so trainings are coordinated.
“My grandkids need to hear this,” said Mohammad Siddique, who is running for county council in Montgomery County.
A young man said he was disappointed after the training that students have to encounter guns in school. “That we have to prepare for these kinds of situations,” he stressed. "When you look [back] at the 70s, no one had to even think about that,” he said, shaking his head.
Umme Sadiqha is a mother of three. Her son is a sophomore in Poolesvile High School. The sheer discomfort that she feels after every mass shooting brought her to the active shooter training. "There is a 25 percent chance that you can get hit by a firearm. This is alarming but knowing that we can look around and do something is empowering,” she recounted.
“It is very frightening, It’s a question of being alive; it brings us closer to our faith. We pray that no one has to suffer through this,” she said.
The school districts affected are considered the best in the country, all in affluent suburban neighborhoods. “His school is very comfortable with weapons,” said Umme Sadiqha with an air of helplessness, looking pointedly at her teenager.
“I learned a lot,” said social worker, Samira who had attended a prior training by Gaithersburg police. “Planning is excellent,” she said.
Sharieff continues to ask, are we prepared?
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