Former Navy SEALs Train Angelenos How to Survive the First 12 Minutes of an Active Shooter Emergency

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The safety organization Move2Safety hosted an Active Shooter Response Foundation Seminar in Los Angeles in December 2013. Led by former Navy SEALs, the 50-person seminar addressed the basic skills necessary to survive during the critical time period between the start of an active shooting and the arrival of local police and first responders.

"The average time between when a shooting starts and when help arrives is 12-18 minutes," said Move2Safety Founder and CEO and former Navy SEAL Matthew Maasdam. "Twelve minutes is a long time to survive and our goal is to teach people how to be their own first respondent, assess the situation and move out of harm's way as safely as possible."

Being branded as the "fire drill of the 21^st century", the 3-hour Move2Safety seminar taught critical skills such as situational awareness, understanding exits, identifying threats, proper movement and medical self-assessment. Attendees also participated in simulation exercises and psychological response education.

"I now know what I'm going to do if- God forbid- I'm in that situation; I'm going to run," said Rebecca George, Charter school founder, mom of two and participant of Move2Safety course. "This Move2Safety seminar is really the fire drill of the 21st century."

Since 2009, active shooter incidents have tripled in the U.S. The rate of people killed by guns in the US is 19.5 times higher than similar high-income countries in the world. The most common, untrained reactions in an active shooter emergency are fight, flight or freeze. Move2Safety's training and main message, that people should immediately move away from the threat, will soon be brought to cities around the country through their 2014 seminars. Classes are currently being scheduled and will be announced on the Move2Safety website at www.move2safety.com.

"Our background is in Special Forces and as Navy Seals, we train for the possible worst case scenario," said Move2Safety Co-Founder and President Rorke Denver. "We want to use our training to give people the basic survival tactics made necessary by the growing number of shooter-related tragedies. Similar to how people automatically respond to a fire or fire drill, our goal is to establish a protocol for active shooter emergencies. Unfortunately, mass shootings are increasing and people need to know how to react and move to safety."

For more information please visit www.move2safety.com. Please "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About Move2Safety
Move2Safety was founded in 2008 by former Navy SEALs to teach people tactical evasion and response skills to escape workplace and school shootings. The curriculum builds confidence and reinforces self-reliance in the face of emergency situations. Its classes address a difficult subject in an empowering and engaging manner to provide real skills that can save lives.

For Price inquiries: Matt Kovacs, [email protected]

SOURCE Move2Safety