Posted on Leave a comment

Three things to do if you encounter an active shooter.

Three things to do if you encounter an active shooter

 

Protect Yourself from Active Shooters Part 2

We wrote previously about five things that can help you protect yourself from school shootings. This is the situation that none of us want to think about at school, but what if it does? What should you do if you encounter an active shooter or a mass shooting scenario?

1. Run

The top priority is to get away from the shooter or shooters. If you have an armor panel in your backpack grab that put it on your back and run. If not, leave your things behind and evacuate. Warn others nearby when you get away. When you are safe, call 911. Do your best to describe the shooter, their location and weapons that they were using.

2. Hide

Find a place to hide if you cannot get away safely. Stay very quiet and get out of the shooter’s view. If your backpack has armor, keep it close, crouch behind it and use it to shield your vital organs. Make sure your electronic devices are on silent and that they won’t vibrate. Turn off all the lights, lock and block the doors with heavy furniture and close blinds. Hide separately along walls to make it more difficult for the shooter. Avoid hiding in groups. Silently communicate with the police through text messages or by putting a sign in a window. Wait until law enforcement gives notice that all immediate danger is removed before exiting your hiding place.
3. Fight
Defending yourself is the last resort when you are in immediate danger. Act aggressively and commit to your actions to stop the shooter. Look for makeshift weapons like chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors and books to ambush the shooter with to distract or disarm the shooter.

Although mass shootings and gun violence have become a more frequent occurrence. It is within your right to protect yourself the best that you can and prepare for unforeseen threats. Caliber Armor is committed to helping people protect themselves.  We work and consult directly with security and local law enforcement whenever we can.  If you are interested in personal protection, please check out our lightweight, Soft Body Armor products that are rated for many calibers of handguns and sharp objects. If you encounter an active shooter, our signature, CaliberX Soft Body Armor Panel is perfect to insert as Backpack Body Armor. We also offer rifle rated Hard Body Armor that can be worn over clothing.  If you have any questions or would like help choosing the best Body Armor for you, please give us a call.

Posted on Leave a comment

Top 5 Ways to Protect Yourself from School Shootings

Top 5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Gun Shootings Header Image

Protect Yourself from Active Shooters Part 1

The places we go to feel safe, our schools and colleges where we discover who we are, learn and grow, face threats that are an unfortunate part of reality. Here are the top 5 ways to protect yourself from school shootings.

1. Awareness
Be aware of your environment and any possible dangers. Know who is around you. Even if you’re not great friends with everyone, be conscious of how your peers are doing emotionally. If you feel the sense that someone might seriously be a threat to themselves or others, say something. Alert your professors, your advisor, your dorm RA, or a campus authority of anything that looks out of place. They should have access to training and materials to help them evaluate and help prevent things from getting worse.

2. Communicate
If it seems like someone is having a hard time, reach out and offer comfort or guide them to find professional help. This act of communication can literally be the difference between life and death. For your safety and the safety of others, know where and how to access your campus mental health services. Violence that can lead to a school shooting, whether toward the self or others, often stems from feelings of isolation and hopelessness. Helping foster a stronger sense of community can help mitigate those feelings.

3. Drill Yourself
Ask and get familiar about active shooter plans at your school, workplace and place of worship. Run though worst-case scenarios in your head in all confined spaces or populated areas. Take note of the two closest exits in any facility you visit. You can even do some practice scenarios at home so that you know what to do. Save emergency phone numbers on quick dial in your phone. Find out if your city participates in text-to-911.

4. Learn First Aid
Sign up for active shooter drill, first aid and tourniquet training. There are free active shooter programs that can also help you prepare for and protect yourself from school shootings.

5. Use Personal Protection Equipment
You can purchase backpack body armor panels that can easily fit inside any existing backpack that you have. Caliber Armor panels only weigh one pound or less and can be moved from one backpack to another when you change the style or when it is worn out. These panels protect against the most common threats that you will encounter. They can stop shots from handguns up to a .44 magnum. These IIIA/HG2 soft armor panels will not protect you from rifles. Rifle rated panels also protect you from school shootings but are heavier and more difficult to conceal.

Caliber Armor is committed to helping people protect themselves. If you’re interested in more ways to protect yourself from school shootings, please subscribe below or read more articles like these posted to our site regularly.

Posted on

Keep Yourself Safe From Gun Violence

Keep Yourself Safe from Gun Violence Header Image

Keep Yourself Safe From Gun Violence

Gun violence is not typically the thing you want to think about, but it’s most likely the thing that is keeping you up at night. How do you keep yourself safe from gun violence, and your loved ones wherever you go? Hardly a week goes by without hearing about another mass shooting in our community. It happens at workplaces, in the grocery store, in schools and in our places of worship. Our politicians talk of banning certain assault rifles or types of ammunition, but how does that help us? Criminals are going to get guns and it’s the criminal, not the weapon that makes the choice to do bad things. How can we protect ourselves and still go about our daily lives?  

Caliber Armor Soft Body Armor Insert Protects You Wherever You Go

This is why we, at Caliber Armor, are focused on creating a life saving product that gives you peace of mind wherever you are. CaliberX™ soft body armor panels come in 8×10, 10×12 and 11×14 options. These panels can easily be placed inside of a backpack, handbag, briefcase or worn in a low visibility carrier vest. Purchasing a body armor panel instead of a specific bulletproof backpack that has armor sewn into it allows you to protect yourself from gun violence wherever you go. You may have a backpack for school and another bag for weekend events, the gym or traveling. Simply insert the soft body armor panel into whatever bag you choose. You also have the option to purchase a carrier that you can wear under a shirt or jacket. The CaliberX™ armor panels are extremely thin and lightweight. They can be concealed easily as they are less than a quarter inch thick and less than 1lb. The last thing you want in a heavy backpack is something else to weigh you down.  

 CaliberX™ soft body armor panels can protect you from the most common gun violence threats that you will face out there. They are rated to stop handgun ammunition as powerful as a .44 Magnum. Our body armor also passes the new NIJ ballistic test for HG2.  

Can Body Armor Protect You from Rifle Shooters?

You might be thinking, what about rifle threats? Attention is often focused on high profile school and shopping center mass shootings where semi-automatic rifles have been used. Can body armor protect you from these sorts of rifles? Yes, it can, and we have options for that. However, hard body armor protection is often heavy or bulky and not very sustainable to have on your person all the time as a civilian. The truth is that handguns are the most common weapon type used in gun related murders and mass shootings. Statistics show that in 64% of all gun murders, handguns were used vs. 4% of the time when assault rifles were used. Handguns are more accessible, easily hidden and they can be almost anywhere. You can conceal handguns and they cannot be detected, making them the weapon of choice for criminals. The most confiscated guns are handguns and the ammunition is readily available with very little restriction. If you want to protect yourself, this is the threat you are the most likely to face.

Caliber Armor’s Mission to Protect You From Gun Violence

At Caliber Armor, our biggest mission is to help people. We are here to provide the very best body armor products on the market to help keep you and your family safe from gun violence. Contact us today so we can assist you in selecting the best product for your needs.