About the Book
First 30 Seconds is a blunt, no-nonsense study and analysis of the Active Shooter problem in America. This straight forward book
-
details America’s 40+ years of refusing to adapt to this problem and identifies reasons for this refusal
-
clearly shows what changes TIME & MATH mandate if we wish to minimize victims in future attacks
-
identifies roadblocks that have prevented the obvious, logical changes that we need, including setting aside our emotions, political agendas, and personal likes and dislikes
-
reminds us that victims die when people of adult age refuse to act like adults and people in leadership positions fail to lead
"Ed Monk is today's leading expert on thwarting mass murderers. His recommended strategy is by far the most effective, as proven in cases where the defenders did what Monk suggested."
-- Massad Ayoob
About the Author
The author served as an active-duty US Army officer for over 20 years. Throughout this career, planning to give and receive deadly violence was a common, required task. Ten days after his Army retirement, he began teaching public high school, where violence was never allowed, discussed, or planned for. He was told the school’s planned response during an Active Shooter attack was to gather in groups and wait to see if the killer or cops got to you first.
That experience started his study of the Active Shooter problem.
This book is about what he found.
This is all about TIME & MATH.
Read Ed’s no-nonsense, blunt analysis of the Active Shooter problem, and the ONLY response that has a high expectation of minimizing victims in future attacks. America has failed at this for 40+ years. It’s time to end the failure.
Ed Monk has researched and studied the Active Shooter Problem since 2007. Since 2011, he has provided training on understanding and countering this threat, always with the goal of minimizing victim-count.
He has trained schools, churches, and businesses nationwide, helping them develop a training and response plan that will save lives. He has trained law enforcement and other government agencies across the country.
Ed has been an invited speaker at many international, national, and state conferences.
Ed is a current law enforcement officer and firearms trainer, a retired Army officer, and former schoolteacher.
He retired from the US Army as a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander after 24 years active duty in the US, Europe, and Iraq.
Ed earned a BS in US History from the US Military Academy (West Point), an MS in Education from Kansas State University, and he is a graduate of the US Army Command & General Staff College.
He owns Last Resort Training and Consulting.
Research Insights
This book holds a wealth of research insights and data that shed light on the nature of the active shooter problem and the critical importance of timely interventions.
Victim Mitigation Strategies
TIME & MATH are the most important factors in planning a response to an Active Shooter attack. Once an attack begins, the attacker will shoot a new victim every few seconds until his attack ends. So, the best response plan is not based on who has the best training, skills, and equipment to stop an Active Shooter. The best response plan is based on who can stop the Active Shooter the quickest.
The Ugly Math
TIME & MATH make this clear. The quicker the Active Shooter attack is stopped, the fewer victims will result. To have a high mathematical probability of low victim-count (0-9), the attacker must be stopped within the First 30 Seconds of the start of his attack. This means, in most cases, the intended victims must stop the attack.
The Second Enemy
Most Active Shooter attacks are carried out by only one shooter. But even if there is only one shooter, there are two enemies we must plan to fight. When the attacker fires his first shot, the second enemy appears – the clock. Every few ticks of that clock, a new victim is shot. Much of America’s failure is due to not planning for the clock. It’s not enough to have a plan that stops the Active Shooter. We must start planning to stop the Active Shooter quickly. The best plan will stop him immediately.
Why Do We Continue to Fail
America fails because we:
-
outsource the solution [counter-violence] to police who almost always arrive too late
-
rely on the 911 response system which often results in a high victim-count
-
adopt plans that work well on days there is no attack, instead of the day of an attack
-
adopt plans that are easy to type and drill, but fail on the day of an attack
-
adopt plans that are comfortable and non-controversial instead of plans that will save lives
-
have people in leadership positions who fail to lead
