Video Review: The Coming Storm

Reviewed by Bill Scott, CPP

1 August 2018

Print Issue: August 2018

Video available on YouTube; www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jgS7jBXZU4.

The FBI released a short training video for law enforcement personnel titled The Coming Storm, which explores the sensitive and growing threat of school shootings. This video offers realistic images of a campus shooting along with timely warnings and advice from FBI experts. School administrators, security officers, and law enforcement personnel are just a few of the groups that will benefit from watching this video.

The video opens with a self-made video depicting a young student who feels victimized by others at his school. The scene shifts to a meeting where a group of school, FBI, and law enforcement personnel discuss the potential meaning of this video. The discussion presents a dilemma for law enforcement and school officials—how to protect individual rights while at the same time providing optimum security for the wider population.

During this talk, an actual shooting occurs at a local university. The FBI special agent and law enforcement officers rush to the scene, and the video depicts a realistic, though softened, account of a mass shooting.

The video weaves in advice from FBI officials at different points in the response to the shooting, such as ensuring that an organization has a plan for an active shooter event, understanding that early information is often inaccurate, preparing for an overwhelming volume of calls to 911, communicating effectively with affected individuals and the media, training between responding organizations, and establishing operations for dealing with the aftermath.

Following the fictional scenario, individuals who responded to actual shootings discuss the lessons they learned at the scenes of real incidents. Their experiences provide credibility to the recommendations made throughout the video.

I recommend this video to all security professionals. It is an important resource to help in the identification of and response to an active shooter event.

Reviewer: Bill Scott, CPP, is senior director of government operations and protection/response programs for ABS Group in Arlington, Virginia. He is a member of the ASIS International Global Terrorism, Political Instability, and International Crime Council.