JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An active shooter late Saturday night inside Morton's Steakhouse restroom at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Jacksonville has left many people wondering what they should do in a similar situation.
First Coast News spoke to two experts on what you should and shouldn't do. The experts said whether you should run or hide during an active shooter situation depends on what’s happening.
"If you can run obviously that's an advantage, and get out quickly. If you can hide, there's two things with hiding. One, where am I going to hide? I'm going to hide in a safe place, something that at least gives me concealment but preferably cover," First Coast News crime and safety expert Mark Baughman said.
If you hide, you should silence your cell phone so the shooter doesn't hear you. Also, you're encouraged to stay on the line when you call 911 so the dispatcher can hear what's happening.
“With the heightened increase of active shooters across the country, you pretty much have to have an awareness of your surroundings," Baughman said.
Run. Hide. Fight. An awareness of your surroundings will help you to know which one to do first.
“If the individual is close to you, and you have the ability and the skill to disarm that individual, then fight comes into place before run and hide," Baughman said.
“It starts before the active shooter arrives," Kim Varner said.
Kim Varner worked for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and said you can protect yourself by making a game plan when you go to a public place.
“I usually try to find two different exits even if it’s a window I have to bust out and have to get away that way, I try to find two different exits in case one of them is blocked with the active shooter being there," Varner said.
Our experts said the safest place to sit at a restaurant is in the back.
"Most active shooters are going to target the people directly in front of them," Baughman said. "They aren't likely to be looking around."
“I don’t put my back to the door," Varner said. "Every time that door swings open, I want to see who’s coming in and what they’ve got in their hands.”
Some other tips include leaving your belongings behind because collecting them could slow you down. Exit the building with your hands in the air, and continue going as far away as you can.