WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — After a shooting at Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, some community members are on alert.
A self-defense expert explains what to do if you ever find yourself in an active shooter situation.
Run, hide or fight. Self-defense expert and head instructor at Armored Self Defense in Winston-Salem, Travis Cook, said those are your three options if you find yourself in an active shooter situation.
If you run, Cook said it's best to stay low to the ground and run in a zig-zag and, not in a straight line.
"The first option is always to run, so if you can assess where the gunshot is coming from, you obviously go the opposite direction, so it's not something that you want to go towards or film," Cook said.
If you can't run, Cook said to hide. He said don't be paranoid but be aware of where you are.
"If you're in a situation like recently in the mall, echoes play a big part of that. It's a real hard thing when you hear echoes coming from everywhere, where the shots coming from, so you don't wanna just blindly runoff in one direction if you can't access it because you may be running towards the gunfire," Cook said. "So you want to hide first, assess the situation, and figure out what's going on."
The last option you've got is to fight. Cook said this should be a last-ditch effort.
"I always liken it to the fire extinguisher example, you always have a fire extinguisher at your house that is active," Cook said. "You're not expecting a fire, but should a fire happen you better have that tool ready and available. Self-defense is no different."