thank you today is November 3rd 2018
precisely a year ago we broke bread with
sheriff and first responders from South
Texas in the wake of the last peg of
shooting and we met for lunch to discuss
how we could help each other how could
we how we could support each of our
communities in the event of an emergency
or an active shooter just two days later
I found myself responding to the worst
active sure event in Texas history the
southern Springs Baptist Church shooting
and is there that I realized that I
needed to concentrate my efforts to
ensure our citizens in our communities
we’re trained to become survivors
because an active shooter event can
happen anywhere at any time as a matter
of fact 50% of all active shooter events
90% of the time active shooter events
are over in 10 minutes or less about the
half of the time after shuri events are
over before law enforcement arrives and
one out of every five the survivors are
able to subdue the attacker and this is
this is why it’s important that all of
you
develop a plan because you are the true
for responders who is this year we have
a handful of women but the majority of
the shooters have been a male acting
alone and the age ranges from teenagers
to senior citizens and he is coming from
any race ethnic or religious background
so I just told you
active shooter can happen anywhere
anytime anyplace and the shooter could
be anyone so how do we prepare we’re
gonna learn what we can learn before we
start talking about the plan let’s
discuss how we all of us react to danger
how many of us have participated in a
fire drill and what’s the first thing we
did in the fire drill we got up and we
left right lies the first thing that you
immediately after that you find yourself
like a prairie dog looking over your
cubicles to see if somebody else was
moving am i lying
what happens is that you are denying
that there’s anything wrong and when you
look for what your peers are doing in
the office you’re looking for social
proof well this happened because our
brain our brain tries to understand what
happened around us and frames it into
daily experiences and this is the reason
why a lot of people tend to not
understand danger they try to soften
danger this is not going to happen here
and when we’re looking around to see
what others are doing and trying to get
a social proof I tell you today that a
single individual well-prepared with a
plan can set the stage for everybody
else to follow and save life and that’s
what we’re going to do today because
when we are under stress our brain tends
to shut down and when we shut down we
default to act based on our experiences
our training or our plan allow me
another example many years ago when the
Russians were coming the first time
go back in school many of us practice as
a safety drill Duck and Cover and this
safety drill was intended to help us act
under stress and we learned that there’s
an attack under the desk under the table
and if you grew up in the west coast you
train and practice in school for air
quakes under the desk under the table
and if you grew up in the Middle Midwest
you practice for tornado response under
the desk under the table and if you grew
up like me in the Caribbean you practice
for hurricane response by going and
buying beer so but but seriously this is
a training scar and if when the bullets
are flying is not the moment to start
planning because our brains are gonna
shut down and we’re not gonna be able to
plan going under the table is not the
answer so how can we change this
well I invite you today all of you then
the next time that you’re going out and
about to the mall to the movies to the
theater to a restaurant change your
security stand
start practicing be a survivor because
we don’t want victims we want survivors
let’s take a visit to the restaurant for
example when you arrive and will your
loved one and you ask the young lady or
the young man for a table and they tell
you it’s gonna be 45 minutes don’t sit
down I invite you to take a walk in the
restaurant let’s find the kitchen you’re
not going into the kitchen Health
Department told me not I got many calls
people walking into kitchens look where
the kitchen is
because there’s gonna be an exit in that
kitchen there’s gonna be a door what if
this restaurant has takeout take our
food that’s another door learn what
those doors are because you already know
where you came from you won an alternate
route just in case that one is blocked
what about your restaurant that you’re
thinking right now has a bar let’s go to
the bar and sir we’re not looking for
the top-shelf tequila we’re looking for
that door then most likely it’s gonna be
at the bar because that’s what we pull
the drunk people out right so now you
have exit doors you know the route look
around the restaurant that you’re
imagining right now you there’s gonna be
glass glass windows well when you walk
in on the restaurant identify where the
fire extinguishers is at a fire
extinguisher is a great tool and you can
use it to break a glass and create a
secondary exit what we do matters for us
and for others and now that we know
about making a plan identifying the
route exit route practice mentally
practice that plan and know that that
plan is there for you to become a
survivor and now you’re thinking if I
only had a way that I can remember
everything that he told me I’m gonna
give you away and we’re gonna thank the
advanced law enforcement Rapid Response
training program alert at Texas State
University in San Marcos because did
they develop a simple three-step program
that we can all remember to save life is
a boy denied and defendant the first
step avoid avoid is simply get away move
away from the
danger find the exit no the exits get
out create enough distance between you
and the threat second step if you cannot
get away from the person deny and you
can accomplish this by moving away to a
room and closing the door a locked door
is gonna protect you from the attacker
and once you’re inside barricade that
door with everything you have
every furniture item but sometimes even
if you are boy and you’re denying the
attacker keeps coming after you now it’s
time to defend and when you defend
remember the attacker is coming to kill
you and you’re defending yourself and
the life of all those innocent people
around you ladies I seen the stuff that
you carry in your purses utilize all
remember the fire extinguisher that I
mentioned before if you know what the
fire extinguisher is and you empty that
fire extinguisher in somebody’s eyes
it’s gonna blind them and the empty
bottle makes a great weapon now the
attacker is gonna be on number ten
twenty thirty to one those are good odds
maybe yourself and two or three others
can rush the attacker yeah you’re most
likely gonna get shot but see fear the
emotion of fear is normal in a situation
like this but while fear is an emotion
courage is a decision why you do matter
you have the right to defend yourself we
won we don’t want victims we want
survivors today is November 3rd 2018 and
through TEDx San Antonio in a symbolic
gesture you and I broke bread
hoping that we never again have to
respond to another active shooter but
knowing that we can be prepared to be
survivors thank you [Applause]
precisely a year ago we broke bread with
sheriff and first responders from South
Texas in the wake of the last peg of
shooting and we met for lunch to discuss
how we could help each other how could
we how we could support each of our
communities in the event of an emergency
or an active shooter just two days later
I found myself responding to the worst
active sure event in Texas history the
southern Springs Baptist Church shooting
and is there that I realized that I
needed to concentrate my efforts to
ensure our citizens in our communities
we’re trained to become survivors
because an active shooter event can
happen anywhere at any time as a matter
of fact 50% of all active shooter events
90% of the time active shooter events
are over in 10 minutes or less about the
half of the time after shuri events are
over before law enforcement arrives and
one out of every five the survivors are
able to subdue the attacker and this is
this is why it’s important that all of
you
develop a plan because you are the true
for responders who is this year we have
a handful of women but the majority of
the shooters have been a male acting
alone and the age ranges from teenagers
to senior citizens and he is coming from
any race ethnic or religious background
so I just told you
active shooter can happen anywhere
anytime anyplace and the shooter could
be anyone so how do we prepare we’re
gonna learn what we can learn before we
start talking about the plan let’s
discuss how we all of us react to danger
how many of us have participated in a
fire drill and what’s the first thing we
did in the fire drill we got up and we
left right lies the first thing that you
immediately after that you find yourself
like a prairie dog looking over your
cubicles to see if somebody else was
moving am i lying
what happens is that you are denying
that there’s anything wrong and when you
look for what your peers are doing in
the office you’re looking for social
proof well this happened because our
brain our brain tries to understand what
happened around us and frames it into
daily experiences and this is the reason
why a lot of people tend to not
understand danger they try to soften
danger this is not going to happen here
and when we’re looking around to see
what others are doing and trying to get
a social proof I tell you today that a
single individual well-prepared with a
plan can set the stage for everybody
else to follow and save life and that’s
what we’re going to do today because
when we are under stress our brain tends
to shut down and when we shut down we
default to act based on our experiences
our training or our plan allow me
another example many years ago when the
Russians were coming the first time
go back in school many of us practice as
a safety drill Duck and Cover and this
safety drill was intended to help us act
under stress and we learned that there’s
an attack under the desk under the table
and if you grew up in the west coast you
train and practice in school for air
quakes under the desk under the table
and if you grew up in the Middle Midwest
you practice for tornado response under
the desk under the table and if you grew
up like me in the Caribbean you practice
for hurricane response by going and
buying beer so but but seriously this is
a training scar and if when the bullets
are flying is not the moment to start
planning because our brains are gonna
shut down and we’re not gonna be able to
plan going under the table is not the
answer so how can we change this
well I invite you today all of you then
the next time that you’re going out and
about to the mall to the movies to the
theater to a restaurant change your
security stand
start practicing be a survivor because
we don’t want victims we want survivors
let’s take a visit to the restaurant for
example when you arrive and will your
loved one and you ask the young lady or
the young man for a table and they tell
you it’s gonna be 45 minutes don’t sit
down I invite you to take a walk in the
restaurant let’s find the kitchen you’re
not going into the kitchen Health
Department told me not I got many calls
people walking into kitchens look where
the kitchen is
because there’s gonna be an exit in that
kitchen there’s gonna be a door what if
this restaurant has takeout take our
food that’s another door learn what
those doors are because you already know
where you came from you won an alternate
route just in case that one is blocked
what about your restaurant that you’re
thinking right now has a bar let’s go to
the bar and sir we’re not looking for
the top-shelf tequila we’re looking for
that door then most likely it’s gonna be
at the bar because that’s what we pull
the drunk people out right so now you
have exit doors you know the route look
around the restaurant that you’re
imagining right now you there’s gonna be
glass glass windows well when you walk
in on the restaurant identify where the
fire extinguishers is at a fire
extinguisher is a great tool and you can
use it to break a glass and create a
secondary exit what we do matters for us
and for others and now that we know
about making a plan identifying the
route exit route practice mentally
practice that plan and know that that
plan is there for you to become a
survivor and now you’re thinking if I
only had a way that I can remember
everything that he told me I’m gonna
give you away and we’re gonna thank the
advanced law enforcement Rapid Response
training program alert at Texas State
University in San Marcos because did
they develop a simple three-step program
that we can all remember to save life is
a boy denied and defendant the first
step avoid avoid is simply get away move
away from the
danger find the exit no the exits get
out create enough distance between you
and the threat second step if you cannot
get away from the person deny and you
can accomplish this by moving away to a
room and closing the door a locked door
is gonna protect you from the attacker
and once you’re inside barricade that
door with everything you have
every furniture item but sometimes even
if you are boy and you’re denying the
attacker keeps coming after you now it’s
time to defend and when you defend
remember the attacker is coming to kill
you and you’re defending yourself and
the life of all those innocent people
around you ladies I seen the stuff that
you carry in your purses utilize all
remember the fire extinguisher that I
mentioned before if you know what the
fire extinguisher is and you empty that
fire extinguisher in somebody’s eyes
it’s gonna blind them and the empty
bottle makes a great weapon now the
attacker is gonna be on number ten
twenty thirty to one those are good odds
maybe yourself and two or three others
can rush the attacker yeah you’re most
likely gonna get shot but see fear the
emotion of fear is normal in a situation
like this but while fear is an emotion
courage is a decision why you do matter
you have the right to defend yourself we
won we don’t want victims we want
survivors today is November 3rd 2018 and
through TEDx San Antonio in a symbolic
gesture you and I broke bread
hoping that we never again have to
respond to another active shooter but
knowing that we can be prepared to be
survivors thank you [Applause]
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