Over 250 active shooter events took place in the United States between 2000 and 2017, resulting in 2,217 victims, both killed and wounded. Statistics find that 45 per cent of active shooter events occur in businesses, while 25 per cent of events occurred at schools and a further 10 per cent took place in government facilities.

In an effort to help prepare real estate professionals for this possibility, the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) is holding a two-hour webinar event on April 17 to help train real estate managers and their staff for the risks and potential violence of active shooter events and help increase tenant and resident safety.

The webinar will be hosted by Tony Casper, CEO of Safe Passage Consulting. Casper is a long-time law enforcement professional and instructor in Counter-Terrorism Tactics and Active Shooter Response for both law enforcement officials and citizens. The webinar will address the implementation of safer workplace practices and will provide guidance on writing emergency response plans.

“A webinar about how to prepare for an active shooter is not something we want to be doing, but the reality is, it is a topic we need to address,” said Don Wilkerson, 2019 IREM president, in a press release. “By helping real estate managers to develop and rehearse a comprehensive shooter plan, they can better protect their tenants, residents and employees in the unfortunate event of an active shooter.”