Widening Your Safety Lens
Violent Intruders: Readiness Must Extend Beyond Active Shooter Readiness
Thought Leadership by Michael C. Kimball of M.C. Kimball and Associates, Inc.
Most people think of someone with a gun when they hear “active shooter.” But the real threat is wider. A violent intruder can use any weapon at hand to harm others. Recent events show that schools, workplaces, entertainment venues, and public spaces need to be ready for attacks involving knives, blunt trauma instruments like bats, rocks, and hammers, and other dangerous objects, not just guns.
During a six-week period between July 20 and August 31, 2026, at least four multiple-victim stabbing incidents occurred in American schools or public places:
On July 25, five men were stabbed during an incident in the Old Sacramento entertainment district in California. All five victims were reported to be in stable condition.[1]
On August 19, five employees were stabbed inside a restaurant at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, California. One victim was transported to a hospital, while four were treated at the scene.[2]
On August 24, a series of attacks across four locations in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood left one person dead and four others injured. Authorities described the attacks as a random series of stabbings occurring over approximately 30 minutes.[3]
On August 28, three 14-year-old students were stabbed on the grounds of Americas High School in El Paso, Texas. Authorities reported that two of the students were injured while attempting to intervene and help the initial victim.[4]
These four incidents affected 18 people in total, with 17 injured and one killed. While the situations and motives were different, they all highlight a key lesson: a violent-intruder emergency can happen without a firearm.
What Is a Violent Intruder?
For planning and safety, a violent intruder is anyone who is killing, trying to kill, or clearly intends to seriously hurt others. The attacker could use a gun, a knife, a blunt object, a vehicle, or anything else they can find.
“Edged weapon” doesn’t just mean a regular knife. It covers any sharp, pointed, or bladed object that can cause serious harm or death, such as:
Screwdrivers
Scissors
Machetes
Axes and hatchets
Claw hammers
Forks
Shovels
Arrows
Broken glass
Utility tools
Other environmental or improvised weapons
Violent intruders often use whatever is nearby. That’s why being prepared means planning for more than just one type of weapon or one way to respond.
The Same Options-Based Principles Apply
The main response steps in a good options-based active-shooter program also work for violent intruders with knives or other weapons. The goal is still to spot the danger, think through your options, and choose the safest response based on where you are, what’s around you, and what the intruder is doing.
Depending upon the circumstances, appropriate options may include:
Avoiding the danger before direct contact occurs
Evading or escaping in a direction away from the attacker
Alerting others and notifying 9-1-1 when it is safe to do so
Entering a securable room
Locking and barricading the door
Silencing phones and remaining out of sight
Providing care for injured people when it is reasonably safe
Defending or countering only when escape and protection are no longer available, and an attack is imminent
Lockdown is still a key option if you’re inside a building and can get to a room that locks and can be barricaded. A locked, secure classroom, office, or workroom puts space between the intruder and those inside. Barricading the door gives you more time and protection until police arrive.
However, if you’re in a hallway, cafeteria, parking lot, playground, athletic field, or another open area, it may be safer to move away from the threat instead of trying to get back to a specific room.
Options-based training helps people assess their situation and choose the response that keeps them safest in the moment.
If you face an attacker with a knife or similar weapon in an open area, keeping your distance and putting barriers between you and the assailant is one of the best ways to stay safe. These weapons usually mean the attacker must get close to hurt someone. Putting more space and barriers between you and the attacker gives you time to get away, warn others, and find a safer place.
Move away from the attacker and head for a secure building, a protected spot, or a clear way out. If you can, put solid barriers between you and the threat. Things like locked doors, walls, fences, counters, heavy furniture, or vehicles can slow down or block the attacker.
Don’t let distance make you have a false sense of security. An attacker can cross what looks like a safe gap very quickly, especially if people nearby hesitate or don’t notice the danger. The goal isn’t to stay close and watch. Use distance and barriers to get away, escape, and warn others.
If you are in a locked and barricaded room, do not leave that protective area until Law Enforcement gives you the all-clear. Staying inside a secure room is safer than entering an open area. The only reason you should leave before Law Enforcement gives you the all-clear is if the violent Intruder breaks into your confined area and you must evade and escape the immediate threat.
Awareness and Emotional Intelligence Come First
The best response might be the one you take before an attack even starts. Being aware of your surroundings and managing your emotions help you spot trouble early and make good decisions.
Situational awareness means consciously observing the environment, recognizing changes, and identifying behaviors or conditions that may signal danger.
Emotional intelligence helps an individual regulate fear, manage the impulse to deny or rationalize what is happening, process available information, and communicate calmly under pressure.
Readiness includes:
Noticing unusual behavior, escalating anger, threats, or visible weapons
Recognizing exits and potential protective spaces
Maintaining awareness in parking lots, hallways, and public gathering areas
Reporting concerning behavior promptly
Trusting credible indicators instead of dismissing them
Communicating clearly and specifically
Moving early when avoidance remains possible
Reassessing conditions as the incident changes
Awareness is not fear, and readiness is not paranoia. Being aware doesn’t mean being afraid, and being ready isn’t the same as being paranoid. It’s about learning to spot danger early and act before you run out of choices. Emergency-preparedness professionals have long recognized that violent attackers may turn to knives, tools, vehicles, or other accessible weapons. Limited access to a firearm may be one possible factor in an attacker’s weapon selection, but motives and circumstances vary, and that explanation should not be assumed in any individual case.
The lesson from these four recent events is not that every stabbing can be predicted or stopped.
The real lesson is that organizations shouldn’t make emergency plans that only focus on firearms. Training must prepare people to respond to behavior and immediate danger—not merely to the sound of gunfire.
Staff and students should understand that a violent-intruder announcement, lockdown decision, or options-based response may be necessary regardless of the weapon involved.
Police and emergency medical personnel will get there as fast as they can, but the people on the scene have to make the first important choices. They might need to spot the threat, warn others, get away, lock or barricade a room, escape, or give lifesaving help before professionals arrive.
Options-based training is more than a procedure. It gives them a decision-making framework. That framework, supported by situational awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, distance, barriers, and practiced response options, can help people protect themselves and others during the first critical minutes of any violent-intruder emergency. This can be the difference between surviving and not surviving.
References
KCRA 3. “5 People Stabbed in Old Sacramento; Teenage Suspect Arrested.” July 25, 2026.
https://www.kcra.com/article/multiple-people-stabbed-old-sacramento/73262323
Los Angeles Times. “Five Workers Stabbed Inside Thunder Valley Casino Restaurant in Northern California.” August 20, 2026.
San Francisco Chronicle. “Fruitvale Workers Feel ‘Vulnerable’ After East Oakland Mass Stabbing.” Updated August 25, 2026.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-stabbings-arrest-22402640.php
ABC News. “3 Students Stabbed at Texas High School, 14-Year-Old Suspect in Custody.” August 28, 2026.
https://abcnews.com/US/stabbing-el-paso-texas-high-school/story?id=136038105
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Bulletin. “Those Terrible First Few Minutes: Revisiting Active-Shooter Protocols for Schools.” September 2010.
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