The Run, Hide, Fight model was developed by the City of Houston and offers three simple and effective action steps if confronted with an active assailant, making it easy to remember and act upon in an emergency: run if you can, hide if you can’t, and fight as a last resort.
An active assailant is an individual or group actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. While often associated with firearms (as an “active shooter”), the term is broader and may include attacks with weapons like knives or vehicles.
These highly unpredictable, dynamic events evolve quickly and rarely have a discernible pattern to victim selection. The priority during an incident is to survive by using the “Run, Hide, Fight” method. These action steps may not always occur in this order, so memorizing them all as possible options regardless of order is a key to quick response.
Below is additional guidance to community members on what to do during each step in the process.