A Recreation Department’s Response to a Mass Shooting

It was shortly before 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 28, 2019, when I received the call from the City Administrator. Mass shooting incident. Garlic Festival. Report to the Emergency Operation Center (EOC).

When I arrived, the EOC was quiet. I strapped on my green vest and took a seat. There were only a few of us present. My colleagues trickled in. Within an hour, the EOC was packed with not only city employees, but representatives from other agencies who were more experienced in times of crisis and there to support us. Recreation was tasked with logistics and, if needed, care and shelter. Dur- ing those first few hours, the phones rang and the text messages came in waves: We need food. We need water. We need ice. We need lights.

The shooting occurred at Christmas Hill Park, home to the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival. The park had streetlights, but not enough to support an active crime scene. Where do we rent portable light towers? Every request we received required a form to be completed and a bar- rage of questions: What is it? Who’s it for? How much does it cost? What time did the request come in? Who’s filling out this form?

We’re moving at a rapid pace, trying to fulfil the requests that are coming in, fast. The local news was turned on, broadcasting live updates from Gilroy. The reporters didn’t have much information except that there was a shooting, patrons were struck, and they had no idea if there was a second gunman. And then the first of many pivots happened.

We need care and shelter, the EOC Coordinator told me.

But we’re doing logistics.

Call your people.

There’s not enough recreation staff to do both. I pull in engineers, planners, anyone to help with logistics as we switch to care and shelter. Luckily, I have my running shoes and take off to our gymnasium. I met other recreation staff where we pulled out cots, blankets, and our EOC box that’s filled with granola bars, clipboards, paperwork, and more vests. We waited for the Red Cross to arrive to assist us. Our guests were the out-oftown festival vendors who were unable to return to their vehicles and tents, which were located inside the park that was now a crime scene protected by scores of police officers from multiple jurisdictions. When the local Red Cross group arrives, they immediately took control of the shelter and told us what we needed to do, which I was thankful for. Once we started the check-in process and our guests were comfortable—as best as one could under the circumstances—I returned to the EOC. It’s at capacity. The phones were ringing, new information is disseminated, more paperwork is processed.

During those first forty-eight hours, our adrenaline was high. We wanted to help anyway we could (and did). We felt we could do anything, but by Thursday, Day 4, our energy levels were sapped. We were still in the EOC, fulfilling logistics requests. The shelter was near closing. Our work at the recreation office was piling up. We went back and forth between the EOC and Recreation. While the public held vigils and processed the tragedy, we didn’t have time to. The chaos, lack of sleep, and trying to juggle all the details had taken its toll.

We were exhausted emotionally, physically, and mentally, yet the organization and the community looked to us to provide immediate care. We are, after all, Recreation—the department that provides a safe environment, a positive experience, and memories that last a lifetime. We may have been put on a pause, but we were determined to get back to normal.

Part of the healing process included how quickly the entire region came together. Santa Clara County and the South County Youth Task Force, for example, established a long-term resilience center for victims and people who wanted to talk about the tragedy. The school district offered counseling to students and their families even though school was not in session. Local businesses donated food and other supplies to first responders and disaster relief workers.

In the end we learned that the Recreation Department (with parks staff support) plays an important role in the event of a disaster. No one department can do it on its own; it truly is a team effort.

By Aly Mancini Community Services Director City of El Segundo