NYPD offers grim survival tips for office shootings

The counterterrorism unit of the New York Police Department shot up various pieces of office furniture so they could recommend safety procedures for those who may find themselves targeted by a crazed gunman in the workplace.

The safest bet is to cower behind a file cabinet, the cops told the New York Post, but don't expect any protection from cubicle walls. According to their test, a file cabinet can withstand gunfire from a 9mm Glock or a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson. Only the AK-47 manged to get bullets through the cabinet. Still, NYPD officials caution that the best response to an office shooting, not surprisingly, is to clear out of the building entirely.

"During an actual event, the NYPD recommends avoiding the shooter and evacuating immediately," Capt. Michael Riggio told the Post. Hiding behind a filing cabinet is definitely Plan B, they note -- together with the strategy of locking yourself inside a designated "safe room" if one is available.

The last resort is tackling the shooter, which would-be victims should only attempt if the gunman is directly confronting them. "Consider using pens, staples, chair legs, anything you can get your hands on, as an improvised weapon," Riggio said.

What the NYPD calls "active shooter" incidents are still very, very rare but are often highly publicized. And horrifying mass killings like the Tucson shooting earlier this month cause widespread concerns.

The cops studied about 200 such incidents across the country over the past 44 years and determined that many of the shooters are members of the community they target. About a third of the attacks happened in schools and about half in workplaces including commercial areas, office buildings, and factories, Jessica Tisch, director of policy and planning in the NYPD's counterterrorism unit, told the Wall Street Journal.

(Social Security files, circa 1936: AP)