By Glenn Rolfe

GEORGETOWN — Like car insurance, it’s something Georgetown Police Lt. Tom Tyndall hopes that no one ever has to use.

But in today’s world, active-shooter threats and mass killings are becoming frequent occurrences.

And the key to survival, Lt. Tyndall said, is being prepared.

“Have a plan,” he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, more than two dozen people — Greater Georgetown Chamber of Commerce members and others — tuned into Lt. Tyndall’s presentation, “Be Prepared for an Active Shooter,” at the Georgetown Microtel Inn & Suites.

“Hopefully, today, I will teach you at least one thing to keep you alive if you find yourself in this situation,” the lieutenant said. “I don’t get paid to do this. I have done these classes 100 times up and down the state, into Maryland.”

A 23-year law enforcement veteran, Lt. Tyndall joined the Georgetown Police Department in 2003, having started his police career as a patrol officer and K-9 handler for the Laurel Police Department. As an instructor, he has been presenting preparedness programs on active-shooter threats since 2014.

In Georgetown, it’s part of the police department’s community outreach.
“I will go out and do this type of training for anybody that asks me. Whether it’s some organization with just five folks or an organization with 300 folks, if they want the training, I will most certainly go out and do the training,” Lt. Tyndall said.

Georgetown Chamber President Linda Price said her organization jumped at Police Chief R.L. Hughes’ offer. “The chief of police approached us and asked if we would host that, and we were very happy to do it, putting it out there for everybody, especially in light of everything that has been happening,” she said.

Active-shooter tragedies, Lt. Tyndall said, have been somewhat upstaged by media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s being covered again now because, hopefully, we’re on the backside of COVID. It’s being in the news a little bit more. But it continues across the country and the world daily,” he said. “What some people would think is it is an uptick in shootings, (but) it’s not. It’s just being covered by the news because they aren’t concentrated on COVID right now. I do not foresee this going away anytime soon.”

In addition to statistical data and the FBI’s definition of an “active shooter,” Lt. Tyndall’s teaching points focused on:

• Planning for an active-shooter event.
• What to do if involved in an active-shooter situation.
• Working with first responders.
• Medical considerations.
• Organizational planning.
• Pre-attack behavior indicators.

“What are active shooters trying to do? They are trying to kill as many people as they possible can,” Lt. Tyndall said. “It’s a sick game to them.”

The crux of survival odds falls on a three-letter acronym, ADD, which stands for “Avoid, Deny, Defend.”

“You remember ‘Run, Hide, Fight’? This is the same thing,” the lieutenant said.

“Avoid” translates to having an escape plan.

“You’re at Walmart, the movies, down at the beach. How am I going to get out of here if things go bad?” Lt. Tyndall said. “Leave your belongings behind. Yes, ladies, … I am asking you to leave your $200 Michael Kors purses. Leave your stuff behind. I promise you, at some point, we will get you back in to get your belongings.”

Denying the shooter access can entail breaking a window, creating a makeshift barricade, turning off room lights and silencing cellphones. Or even simply locking a door.

“As an active shooter, I’m trying to kill as many folks as I can possibly kill. I’m walking down the hall, and I come to a door, and it’s locked. I’m going to keep on going. Why? (Shooters) know (the police) are coming,” said Lt. Tyndall. “On average, an active-shooter event lasts three minutes. Not a long time.”

The last option is to defend or fight.

“Your very last resort is to fight. First, try to avoid. Then, deny access. Your last-ditch effort is to defend yourself. When I mean fight, you have to fight with everything that you have. It goes back to that mind-set: It’s them or me. Poke him in the eyes. Kick them in the groin, him or her, it doesn’t matter,” Lt. Tyndall said. “What can I use as a weapon? If I have to shove my thumbs through their eyes out the back of their head, that is what I am going to do.”

He also suggests making mental notes of surroundings when you are in public places.

“Develop a plan before the event, even if you are making up something in (your) head,” Lt. Tyndall said. “If you’re out for dinner, if things go bad in here, where can I go? Where are my exits? Where can I barricade myself? What can I fight back with? That plan has to be flexible. But have Plan B in case Plan A goes south. Have Plan C in case A and B go south!”

Hopefully, nobody will ever experience such a situation, Lt. Tyndall said.

“But they do. They find themselves in a situation, and hopefully, something I say today will trigger them into getting that plan in place — if I can avoid this, I’m getting out … there is my exit. … If I need to barricade myself in a room to deny them access. Or if I have to fight them,” Lt. Tyndall said.

Scott Thomas, director of Southern Delaware Tourism, found the presentation quite informative.

“Every bit helps, definitely. I mean the basic principles,” said Mr. Thomas. “The situation-awareness aspect — ‘Avoid, Deny, Defend’ — things like that are easy things to remember. It’s things to practice and be aware of.”

Another attendee was Milford resident Lester Guyer, employed as a safety director for the i.g. Burton car dealerships and a 43-year member of the Carlisle Fire Co.

“Very interesting! The more training that anybody can get to prevent and be prepared is always an advantage,” Mr. Guyer said. “We do training. We have quarterly meetings, and we go and remind people. It is always great to attend something to get more information because sometimes you forget.”

Ms. Price said the Georgetown Chamber is hoping to host another active-shooter educational session in June or July. “I learned a few things, and it is great to be reminded,” she added.

Lt. Tyndall’s presentation included video clips of live footage from the Las Vegas concert massacre in 2017 and a television interview with Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, the Sandy Hook first-grade teacher who saved the lives of her 15 students by herding them into the classroom’s tiny bathroom, while keeping them calm and quiet until the SWAT team arrived.

“Straight hero, right there. She saved her 15 students and herself,” Lt. Tyndall said. “And Sandy Hook had just went through active-shooter drills two days before this happened. So they knew what to do.”

In his presentations, Lt. Tyndall does lay out some ground rules.

“Rule No. 1 is do not ever have the mind-set where it’s never going to happen to me. We used to train: if this happens. We now train: when this happens. Sadly, and unfortunately, that is how we have to train now,” he said. “We train at (Delaware Technical Community College). We train at different spots around Georgetown, our schools, because when this happens, I want to make sure I am ready, and I want to make sure Georgetown PD officers are ready.

“I am very passionate about this topic. But I 100% refuse to give these shooters credit. I do not want to say their name,” Lt. Tyndall said. “Do not let these people instill fear inside of you from going out, from going about your daily business. God forbid you ever find yourself in a situation like this. I do this because I don’t want any of you to be a victim. This is why I come out and do this.”