This book is an outstanding resource for anybody concerned about the safety of their business, school, place of worship, or government office in this age of the proliferation of guns in America.

I now understand, for example, why there are giant red balls planted in front of Target store entrances.

There’s a lot more people can do to prevent active shooter incidents, but the subtitle of the book (“How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis”) — in America presumably — is a little optimistic.

Author Katherine Shweidt doesn’t explicitly say how her community will end the crisis. She writes more, though, on how to slow it down, how to mitigate the harm these occurrences cause, and how to plan ahead of time to prevent future occurrences.

You may quibble with Schweidt's recommendation to RUN,HIDE, or FIGHT if, God forbid, you are a victim of a shooter, but I can tell you that on at least one occasion I fought back (a couple of muggers, not shooters). While it didn't prevent me from being injured or from suffering PTSD in the aftermath, it helped me focus my attention the task at hand -- making sure it was not my last day on this earth, not the last day I would see my wife and children again.

But for anybody who thinks their government does nothing -- a widespread attitude not only in America but where I live as well, which happens to be Canada -- your governments are doing a lot to prevent future mass shootings, to educate you on what you can do to help them in this quest, to mitigate the harm of future shootings, and to support the victims.

It is also a reminder that first responders suffer from PTSD from attending to the aftermath of shootings, and these first responders are not faceless bureaucrats...they are your neighbors, too. ( )