Recent mass shootings have demonstrated the need to prepare local, regional, state and federal resources for these events. Emergency managers and public safety agencies must adapt to society's changes so that appropriate delivery of emergency services is ensured in a crisis.
The guidelines and procedures discussed here should not replace common sense and experience. It's impossible to plan for every situation that may occur. New best practices and lessons learned are available on an ongoing basis. These emergency response plans should be updated regularly.
Planning Considerations
The purpose of this article is to help prepare first responders, emergency managers, school officials and others with the basic tools and information needed to develop or assess a multiagency plan for preparing and responding to a mass shooting.
Emergency management, law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services (EMS) all share some of the same priorities during a mass shooting, and these include safety and incident stabilization. Therefore, planning and interagency cooperation should be paramount for all types of critical incidents. There is tremendous need for a coordinated effort among all agencies to ensure a safe and effective response.
No two shootings are the same, though responder safety is paramount during this type of event. Factors like the shooter's motive, his or her weapons, familiarity with the location and number of staff and visitors can all influence an incident's outcome. Preparation is the key and it includes a clear idea of your actions before the incident occurs. The first step of preparation is a review of your jurisdiction's guidelines and procedures - if they exist - for responding to a mass shooting. Another important step is to bring all the key agencies together, such as law enforcement, fire, EMS, emergency management, hospitals, school systems and colleges.
Every jurisdiction, big or small, should have a Local Emergency Planning Committee or a Terrorism Task Force in order to provide a foundation for this planning effort. As with any multihazard assessment and planning process, it's a great idea to do a multiagency exercise (i.e., tabletop or functional) that brings all the key agencies together and rehearses the plan. Initially all the critical agencies should meet to discuss the planning effort for these types of events. One of the first steps this group can take is "target identification" for a mass shooting event that includes elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities, and high-profile businesses.
Schools guard extensively against fires by using fire drills, sprinkler systems, building codes, etc. Excluding dorm fires, no child has died from fire in a U.S. school in more than 25 years, according to a report from the Police Officers Safety Association. This is a great planning template and all planners should recognize how effective this approach has been. On the other hand, more than 200 deaths have occurred by shootings in the same period.
We all recognize that training and preparation for these events sometimes is met with stiff resistance and denial. Nevertheless they are important.
Crisis Kits
Every business or school should have a crisis kit. These kits can be of great use during a mass shooting or any other type of critical incident. It is important that these kits be updated and ready for immediate use. The kit should be in a location that is readily accessible to the staff responsible for the kits' upkeep, transport and security. The designated staff (with deputies when appropriate) in charge of the kit should take it when the facility is locked down or evacuated. The kit must be removed during drills for consistent training and planning efforts.
A back-up kit with duplicate information should be placed in an alternate location. Kits can include items such as keys/diagrams of campus, teacher, student and employee rosters (with photos if possible), lists of students with special needs, blueprints of school buildings, Maps of surrounding area, aerial photos of campus and other items that are identified by the facility. Management should also prepare a facility specific multihazard emergency operations plan that addresses all hazards including armed attack/violent situations and train their staff to be familiar with the plan. Schools and colleges, when possible, should train students on what to do in case of emergencies including armed attack/violent situations.
Threat Groups
It appears that the "bad guys" are more determined, violent and heavily armed than ever before, and crisis situations such as terrorist events, criminal attacks, active shooters and threats or hoaxes are occurring with alarming frequency. Many of these types of events can't be peacefully resolved or negotiated. It must also be recognized that there are serious domestic and international threat groups and individuals that are willing and able use weapons against the public and first responders. One important reminder is that there are active hate groups and extremists in all 50 states.
Some mass shooting events begin with a warning or threat. Threats can be an alarming behavior, statements, actions or the discovery of physical items (weapons, plans, death lists or notes). The threat assessment process is based on several factors such as behavior, history, intent and capability. FBI statistics show that in 81 percent of school violence incidents, there was "leakage," or other persons who had knowledge that something was going to occur. Mass shootings can and do occur in urban, suburban and rural settings.
Lessons Learned
Each year several mass shootings occur in the United States. It's important that we take the valuable and sometimes-fatal lessons learned from these past incidents and apply them to our future training and planning. First responders will encounter many challenges during their careers, including acts of violence involving weapons. During the Feb. 14th, 2008, shooting at Northern Illinois University in which a gunman killed himself and five others, the command staff stated that "unified command training paid off." The units reported to a central staging area, and from there the incident commander dispatched them to various areas on campus.
Mutual aid companies were requested early on, which brought about 20 ambulances as well as mass casualty trailers, extra squads and engine companies to the incident. A unified command post was established near the incident, and leaders there included the fire chief as well as the chief of the NIU campus police and key staff. The statement was made that, "things went smoothly. There were no communications issues. We've practiced it, and everything came together." Remember how you train is how you fight.
