Active Shooter
Active Shooter: Is There Really a Problem?
I am excited to join the Carolina Fire Rescue EMS Journal and introduce a new series, where Chief Julie Downey we will discuss Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs) and Active Shooter/Hostile Events (ASHE) In this series we will discuss multiple considerations including: • Is there really a problem? • History of MCI Response • The True First Responder to an MCI or ASHE • Stop the Bleed • MCI and ASHE Response • EMS and Law Enforcement integrated response/ Rescue Task Force (RTF) • Unified Command Best Practices •Patient Care for an MCI/ASHE •Patient Tracking •Training and Exercise •MCI/ASHE Documentation •Recovery
Is There Really a Problem? Mass shootings are the most common mass casualty events and are the most studied type of mass casualty/active shooter incidents. The FBI defines an “active shooter” as an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area and Congress defines the term “mass killing” as three or more killings in a single incident. According to FBI data (www. fbi.gov) between 2000 and 2018 in the United States there were 277 active shooter incidents. In comparison, according to the Congressional Research Service between 1999-2013 there 66 active shooter incidents recorded. The number of mass shootings occurring in the past 10 years is almost two and half times greater than the decade prior (1998 to 2007). More than half or 57 percent of all recorded mass shootings occurred within the past 10 years, as reported from
the 2018 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Resource Guide. The data does not include shootings because of gang or drug related incidents. As we can see with the dramatic increase in Active Shooter/Hostile Event (ASHE) incidents, there is definitely a problem in the United States. The increase in ASHE has forced fire rescue, EMS, and law enforcement to reexamine how to respond to ASHE incidents, as well as how to rapidly treat and remove victims from potentially hostile environments as safely as possible for responders. When we review the afteraction reports of ASHE incidents, there are several common challenges that have occurred. These include the lack of unified command between fire rescue, EMS and law enforcement; communication issues with between fire rescue, EMS and law enforcement; difference in terminology or radio codes; reluctance to respond into an area that has not been deemed safe and secure from law enforcement; reluctance to respond into the “warm zones” with a properly trained and equipped rescue task force; and lack of asset/resource knowledge from neighboring jurisdictions.
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History of MCI Response That Has Led to Change On April 20, 1999, the Columbine High School shooting occurred. Twelve students and one teacher were killed and 24 were wounded. There were two shooters who had self-inflicted fatal wounds within 45 minutes from start of incident but there was no significant law enforcement entry for over an hour and no medical operations for four hours. After this incident occurred, the law enforcement community had a paradigm shift and adjusted their procedures/tactics to quickly enter an area where shooters are
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see ACTIVE SHOOTER page 24
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CWWILLIAMSFIRE.COM 574 ENGLISH ROAD | ROCKY MOUNT, NC 27804 2018 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Resource Guide
Carolina Fire Rescue EMS Journal
www.carolinafirejournal.com
Fall • 2021 23
