Bam! It’s one of the most startling sounds to pierce the air. When it happens, people instantly process the sound — a gunshot — as an immediate threat. They may become paralyzed for a split second in disbelief.
Their next course of action may decide whether they live or die, according to Gig Harbor’s Jesus Villahermosa, an expert in gangs, workplace violence prevention and school shootings.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The gunshots get louder as the shooter searches for more victims.
Once a thought of unspeakable horror, lives now hang in critical decisions.
As frightening as the situation sounds, active shooters entered school campuses or public settings in two locations around Pierce County in 2005 and 2007. Nationwide, there have been 43 school shootings since 1996.
The one closest to home happened three years ago at Foss High School in Tacoma, where Villahermosa’s son, Benjamin, had attended just before he transferred to Peninsula High School. One student was killed on the first day back from school following winter break.
Those events heightened Villahermosa’s passion for turning his knowledge into a method for saving people’s lives.
No matter where you are, there are specific ways to react and ways not to react during an immediate threat of violence, he said.
Villahermosa, who has been a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy since 1981 and an active member of the department’s SWAT team since 1983, wants people to know the most basic measure to survival is to run or barricade.
Do not duck and cover.
“Barricading is a form of lockdown,” he said. “Running is a form of evacuation.”
Four years ago, in response to what he refers to as a new era of emergency, Villahermosa decided to articulate his crisis prevention tactics in an educator’s guide to realistic lockdown development and implementation titled, “Staff, This is a Lockdown.”
He said the education system needs retraining to meet the current threat or trends in society. A common misconception if an active shooter is nearby is to get down as if an earthquake drill has ensued, he said.
But the goal is to evacuate the premises as quickly as possible, or barricade the doors so the shooter can’t enter.
“You can lock down anything, as long as you understand the concept,” Villahermosa said.
His hands-on knowledge in combating an active shooter is detailed in a number of anecdotes in his book.
Villahermosa began a consulting business in 1986 that targets school and workplace violence. His book establishes a foundation of empirical evidence during an active-shooter scenario.
Villahermosa has taught more than 450,000 professionals and students across the country about issues related to gangs, youth violence, workplace violence, school safety and rape and assault prevention. Although he acknowledges it’s “horrible” to provide those kinds of recommendations, the fact that his son was on campus during a school shooting compelled him to dispel misconceptions of dealing with a life-threatening crisis.
The book, scheduled to be released as early as this spring, lists common denominators associated with killers’ tendencies and victims’ reactions that spell a nightmarish end.
Crisis-response plans now have become mandatory for many school districts across the country. Locally, both Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools have performed mock drills on how to effectively lock down a campus.
Villahermosa’s ultimate objective is to educate people on how to effectively implement a lockdown plan at any facility, and how to defend an active-shooter event.
Villahermosa also hopes many students will take a more active stance on being aware of people’s behaviors and pass along critical information that may stop a shooting before it can unfold.
Benjamin Villahermosa recounted the experience of being on the Foss campus when word spread that a student had been shot.
“They weren’t really prepared,” he said. “It’d benefit them to be ready.”
Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy since 1981, currently a sergeant as the supervisor of the Court Security Unit of the County/City Building.
Previously served 15 months as the director of campus safety at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland.
First certified Master Defensive Tactics instructor for law enforcement personnel in the state.
Firearms instructor and an active shooter instructor.
Member of the Pierce County Sheriff’s SWAT team since 1983. Currently serves as the point man on the entry team.
Began a consulting business now called Crisis Reality Training, Inc. Since 1988, it has primarily focused on the issues of school-related and workplace violence.
Has taught more than 450,000 professionals and students across the country and in Canada about issues regarding gangs, youth violence, workplace violence, school safety and rape and assault prevention.
Has been a keynote speaker at numerous national and Canadian educational conferences.
Attended and completed a five-day course taught by the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center in Washington, D.C., where targeted school and workplace violence prevention was the focus.
For more information, visit www.crisisrealitytraining.com.
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