Active Shooter Response Training and Preparation

California Tactical Academy is offering a course for the concerned citizen that will prepare and train for possible active shooter attacks.  This will include a classroom discussion on the active shooter mindset, the history of the active shooter in both America and abroad, how to respond and help keep yourself and others safe, warning signs of a possible impending active shooter.

The full day course will additionally provide hands on training, including take downs and weapon takeaways, basic strikes, and more!

This course is a blend of academic and practical training that will give the student a better understanding of the active shooter mindset, actions and how to respond in the event the unthinkable happens. This course will include classroom, range, and hand to hand components. While it is somewhat physical in its’ nature, the participant can scale their activities to meet their abilities. This class is designed for the armed citizen who wishes to be better prepared for such an event.

Basic weapons familiarity. Familiarization fire with handgun, rifle, shotgun.

Active counter measures with personal weapons i.e. hands, feet etc, including firearms retention and take away. Body part targets for personal and improvised weapons or weapons of opportunity. Creating escape opportunities.

• Providing aid until EMT arrive
• Controlling major bleeds
• Managing airways
• Preventing shock

Throughout the class we will discuss and instill the proper mindset to survive the active shooter event.

Why our Active Shooter Class is different
Not too long ago, the FBI released a fairly comprehensive study of Active Shooter incidents over a time
period of several years. There is a lot to unpack in the document, being about 30 pages long, but one
thing that stands out to us, at California Tactical Academy, is the location of most of the active shooter
events. It should come as no surprise that most active shooter events occurred at “Gun Free” zones.
Here at CTA, we knew this and some years back when we developed our Active Shooter class, we built it
around this salient point.

I have seen many Active Shooter classes in the market and many of them are well taught by competent
instructors. But they are frequently built around the idea that the student will draw their gun and
intercede. Our class is built on different assumptions. The CTA class is geared towards the student who
does not, for whatever reason, have a firearm with them. We offer plenty of shooting classes (after all,
we are a shooting range) that can help you develop the skills to make that difficult shot. Our Active
Shooter class is not one of those. We opted to give the student the skills to survive an Active Shooter,
and position themselves to save lives, despite the lack of firearm.

We invite you to join us as we resume our Active Shooter classes in the coming months. Our class is
taught by subject matter experts who have responded to Active Shooter events as they unfolded. Our
instructors are defensive tactics instructors who have extensive, real world experience with using empty
hand techniques to resolve complex force scenarios. Every technique we teach, we have actually used
on the streets. And we want to give our students the best chance of survival despite not having a
firearm.

Why our Active Shooter Class is different
Not too long ago, the FBI released a fairly comprehensive study of Active Shooter incidents over a time
period of several years. There is a lot to unpack in the document, being about 30 pages long, but one
thing that stands out to us, at California Tactical Academy, is the location of most of the active shooter
events. It should come as no surprise that most active shooter events occurred at “Gun Free” zones.
Here at CTA, we knew this and some years back when we developed our Active Shooter class, we built it
around this salient point.

I have seen many Active Shooter classes in the market and many of them are well taught by competent
instructors. But they are frequently built around the idea that the student will draw their gun and
intercede. Our class is built on different assumptions. The CTA class is geared towards the student who
does not, for whatever reason, have a firearm with them. We offer plenty of shooting classes (after all,
we are a shooting range) that can help you develop the skills to make that difficult shot. Our Active
Shooter class is not one of those. We opted to give the student the skills to survive an Active Shooter,
and position themselves to save lives, despite the lack of firearm.

We invite you to join us as we resume our Active Shooter classes in the coming months. Our class is
taught by subject matter experts who have responded to Active Shooter events as they unfolded. Our
instructors are defensive tactics instructors who have extensive, real world experience with using empty
hand techniques to resolve complex force scenarios. Every technique we teach, we have actually used
on the streets. We strive to give our students the best chance of survival despite not having a firearm.

Instructor Bio

Mike Lazarus holds 27 years of experience as a law enforcement officer, as well as 19 years SWAT including sniper, assaulter, team sergeant, FBI certified firearm instructor, MP5 and Sub Machine gun instructor, Defensive tactics instructor, Police Academy instructor, 13 years of experience in the US Army with multiple overseas deployments. Airborne, SOTIC, PSD, SRT, small arms armorer, various other military schools, Faculty member in California State University, Northridge and Ventura College. Hobbies include outdoor sports, hunting, competitive shooting.