This is what you should do if a terrorist attacks your hotel
As lone wolf terror attacks increase in western countries, a terrorism expert reveals the three courses of action: Get out, hide out or take out
INSTABILITY in the Middle East means that terror attacks are likely to be commonplace in western countries for several years to come.
Many popular holiday destinations like France, Turkey and Egypt are classed a high terror risk by the government, but it hasn’t stopped Brits heading there in droves every summer.
However, it’s important to know what to do if a terror incident happened like the 2015 attack in Tunisia, when 30 Brits were among 38 holidaymakers killed in a rampage by lone IS gunman Seifeddine Rezgui at a beach hotel.
According to Randy Spivey, Founder of the , which runs courses like Active Shooter Response, Travel Safety and Security, and Kidnap Survival, there are a few key actions to take that could make the difference between staying alive and ending up dead.
RELATED STORIES
He said: "In a worst case scenario there are three rules to follow, whether you’re in an airport, a café or a hotel – it’s ‘get out, hide out, take out.’”
Here, he tells Sun Online how that motto applies if a terrorist comes into your hotel with a gun:
GET OUT
"If the terrorist is carrying a gun it’ll be over pretty quickly, so you have to try and get outside fast.
"Run outside and get to a sheltered location or if you are in a high rise building, your best option might be to run upstairs, to try and get to the roof.
"Just get as far away from the situation as you can.
"Do it fast and trust your instinct. That might sound simple but many people just freeze when it happens to them."
HIDE OUT
"If you can’t get out because violence is happening between you and the exit, then hide in a place where you barricade yourself in.
"Get to somewhere like a bathroom or office closet, then block and lock the door and make it difficult to get inside."
TAKE OUT
"The third option, if you are in a close confined area with no other choices, is to take out the person with a gun.
"At the shooting in an Orlando nightclub last year, there was just one guy walking around in a close confined area, shooting a lot of people.
"In a close confined area, if you have five or six people on your side then try to come up behind that person with the gun, get them to the floor and control their hands.
"The odds are in favour of the group if they act together, but they have to get that mental capacity to act together."
While the three rules above are crucial for survival, Randy says that the main issue people struggle with is freezing on the spot.
He said: "With normal people who have not had training, the normal response when an attack like this happens is to be startled, afraid and to reach out and hold onto to someone.
"This is the worst thing possible that you could do.
"Once you have had training, you can push through the normal fear and either Get out, Hide out or Take out.
"Also, only play dead as a very last resort.
"People might have survived that way in the past but it is not recommended."