Table of Contents
Overview
To ensure your safety, preparing for the unexpected and unimaginable is required. Such unthinkable risks are unfortunately part of the reality of our everyday lives. The safest action will depend on the threat, your location and individual needs. A mass attack or mass gathering incident may involve:
- an active shooter,
- reckless and deadly drivers,
- bomb threats, and
- terrorism.
Take steps to prepare and protect yourself and help others in the event of a mass attack. No single response works for every person or every situation.
Prepare before an attack
- Stay aware of your surroundings and identify exits, accessible routes, areas of refuge, and places that may provide substantial cover.
- At work, school, housing, and public venues, ask how emergency plans address people who may need mobility, communication, medical, sensory, or personal-assistance support.
- If you use a mobility device, service animal, communication device, medication, oxygen, or other critical equipment, include it in your emergency planning when possible.
- If you rely on another person for assistance, discuss backup plans in case that person is unavailable.
- Keep emergency contacts and important medical or communication information in a format you can access quickly.
- Know whether your local 9-1-1 system accepts text or other accessible communication methods.
- Learn lifesaving skills, such as first aid, bleeding control, CPR, or other training that can help until professional responders arrive.
Report concerning behavior, not stereotypes
There is no reliable profile of a person who will commit a mass attack. Focus on specific behaviors or communications that suggest a person may be planning, preparing for, or moving toward violence.
- Direct or indirect threats of violence.
- Communications about plans, targets, weapons, timing, or intent to harm.
- Attempts to obtain information, access, weapons, or materials connected to an attack.
- Behavior showing preparation, rehearsal, surveillance, or other movement toward violence.
- Other conduct that creates a specific and credible safety concern.
Report immediate threats to 9-1-1. For non-immediate concerns, contact the appropriate school, employer, venue, local law-enforcement agency, or threat-assessment resource.
If you see something, say something to local authorities. That includes suspicious packages, people behaving strangely or someone using strange communications.
Learn lifesaving skills. Take trainings such as You Are the Help Until Help Arrives and first aid to assist the wounded before help arrives.
See Ready.gov’s Attacks in Crowded and Public Spaces for more information.
Survive during a mass attack: run, hide, fight
For an active shooter or similar immediate threat, guidance continues to use Run, Hide, Fight. These are options, not a required sequence, use the safest option based on the circumstances.
Run or move to safety
- Seek safety. Use an accessible route.
- Getting away from the attacker is the top priority.
- Leave your belongings behind and get away.
- Help others if you can safely do so.
- Call 9-1-1 when you are safe and describe the attacker, location and weapons.
Cover and hide, shelter or create distance
- Cover and hide if you can’t evacuate.
- Find a place to hide out of view of the attacker and put a solid barrier between yourself and the threat if possible.
- Choose substantial cover when available. Concealment may keep you out of sight but may not stop bullets or other hazards.
- Lock and block doors, close blinds and turn off lights and devices (no sound/vibrations).
- Keep silent.
Defend, disrupt, fight only as a last resort
- Fight only as a last resort. When you can’t run or cover, attempt to disrupt the attack or disable the attacker.
- Be aggressive and commit to your actions.
- Recruit others to ambush the attacker with makeshift weapons such as chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, books, etc.
- Be prepared to cause severe or lethal injury to the attacker.
Help the wounded
- Take care of yourself first and then, if you are able, help the wounded get to safety and provide immediate care.
- Call 9-1-1 when it is safe for you to do so.
Be safe after a mass attack
When law enforcement arrives
- Remain calm and follow instructions.
- Keep hands visible and empty.
- Report to designated areas to provide information and get help.
- Follow law enforcement’s instructions and evacuate in the direction they tell you to go.
- Listen to law enforcement for information about the situation.
- Share updates as you can with family and friends.
Recovery and trauma
People can experience physical and emotional effects after a violent incident even when they were not physically injured. Seek medical, mental-health, victim-service, or disability-related support when needed. Ask for accessible communication and reasonable modifications when services are provided by covered entities.
Rights and responsibilities in emergency planning
Emergency safety is not solely an individual responsibility. Government agencies, schools, employers, property operators, and event or facility operators should plan in advance for people with disabilities and other access and functional needs.
- State and local governments must make their emergency management programs, services, and activities accessible to people with disabilities under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Emergency planning should address accessible warnings and communications, evacuation, transportation, sheltering, and other services.
- Depending on the entity and setting, other disability nondiscrimination requirements—including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Titles I or III of the ADA—may also apply.
- A plan that simply tells everyone to use the same exit, hear the same alarm, move at the same speed, or respond in the same way may not provide meaningful access for people with disabilities.
Resources and action items
- The Disaster Distress Helpline is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. Call or text 1-800-985-5990.
- Make sure you are registered for emergency alerts in your area with your local city or county.
- Understand when you might be eligible for crime victim compensation.
- Vibrant Emotional Health helps people navigate the recovery process and work through the traumas of tragedy.
- Request training and education from local jurisdictions, like the Public Safety Office, Police Department, and Homeland Security.
- Workplace and school planning: Ask how drills, exercises, evacuation plans, lockdown procedures, reunification procedures, and communications address disability-related access needs.
- Public events: Before attending a concert, sporting event, parade, fair, or other large gathering, identify accessible entrances and exits and ask the venue how it addresses emergency evacuation, sheltering, communication, and disability-related assistance.
Updated: August 10, 2026
Publication Code: DPR27
www.DRTx.org
Statewide Intake: 1-800-252-9108
Sign Language Video Phone: 1-866-362-2851
Purple 2 Video Phone: 512-271-9391
Online Intake available 24/7: intake.DRTx.org
Disclaimer: Disability Rights Texas strives to update its materials on an annual basis, and this handout is based upon the law at the time it was written. The law changes frequently and is subject to various interpretations by different courts. Future changes in the law may make some information in this handout inaccurate.
The handout is not intended to and does not replace an attorney’s advice or assistance based on your particular situation.
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