When terror strikes, 'run, don't play dead'

In the event of Paris-style attack, victims should run and hide behind "substantial brickwork" rather than lying down and playing dead, Britain's counter-terrorism office has said in its safety advice to citizens.

The UK's National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NACTSO), in the wake of last week's Parish attacks which claimed 129 lives, has published the advice on what to do in a gun and bomb attack similar to the one witnessed in the French capital last week which claimed 129 lives.

Counter-terror officials released tips on how to behave in an attack, asking people to "escape if you can", rather than
lying down, or to barricade themselves into a safe place with their phones on silent.

It follows reports that several survivors of the Batachlan massacre in Paris dropped to the ground and remained still as the gunmen claimed the lives of 89 music fans and injured 100 more. But the NACTSO guidance said those caught up in such an attack should "escape if you can", "insist others leave with you" and "leave belongings behind".

The document outlines what to do in "response to a fast moving incident such as a firearms or weapons attack" and also advises businesses to develop procedures for what NACTSO called a "dynamic lockdown" to stop armed terrorists entering a site.

"Dynamic lockdown is the ability to quickly restrict access and egress to a site or building (or part of) through physical measures in response to a threat, either external or internal," said NACTSO, a branch of the National Police Chiefs' Council.

In the event that escape routes are cut off, then officials advise finding cover from the gunfire behind "substantial brickwork or heavy reinforced walls" as "cover from view does not mean you are safe, bullets go through glass, brick, wood and metal".

The document, which reiterated Britain's "Severe" terror threat level, meaning an attack is highly likely, also stresses that police have exercised plans to respond to multi-seated firearms attacks and may increase their presence in some areas.

"Don't become fearful or withdraw from the streets," it added.