Active Shooter

According to news reports, more than 88 mass casualty events, a distinct category of shootings taking place in a public setting, have taken place in the last 30 years, or roughly 1 every 4 months. However, statistics show the rate of mass casualty shootings is increasing, meaning that, unfortunately, first responders will likely come across one this type of event in the near future — and potentially many times throughout their careers.

The Justice Clearinghouse covers the topic of Mass Casualty and Emergency Management on a regular basis: through the webinars we hold, the articles we write, as well as the articles we curate from other respected sources.

Begin or enhance your knowledge about how to respond to, prepare for, and recover from Mass Casualty and other major Emergency events by reviewing some of the information below.

Upcoming Webinars

06 / 23 / 2022

When Your Investigation Becomes an International Crisis: The PIO’s Role During Major Events

Today’s public information officer (PIO) has to juggle providing timely, accurate information to the public while protecting the integrity of sensitive investigative information in the face of crisis. The [...]

08 / 02 / 2022

Veteran-Centered Crisis Stabilization and Scene Management Strategies

In Los Angeles County, innovation has led to the collaborative and integrated approach of a “Task Force” model by having public, private sector and nonprofit agencies share resources across individual [...]

08 / 23 / 2022

Lessons Learned from the Post-George Floyd and Capitol Protests

The mass demonstrations of 2020 and 2021 have been different than previous years. Recently, increasing numbers of mass demonstrations and protests have been about and directed toward law enforcement. These demonstrations have [...]

09 / 27 / 2022

High Risk Terminations: Policies, Procedures and Planning

Every organization inevitably has to terminate an employee. But occasionally, what might seem to be a standard termination, could become a high-risk situation. But what is a high-risk termination? Couldn't [...]

10 / 13 / 2022

Managing High-Risk Adolescents: A Case Study of the Averted Paw Paw High School Shooting and the Southaven Pier Shooting

Does adverting a school attack ensure that the threat of violence has been mitigated? In 2018 a youth at Michigan High School was arrested after his mother uncovered a school shooting [...]

Dr. Jeff Fox, PhD

12 / 06 / 2022

After Incident Analysis: Best Practices and Recommendations

In this webinar, we will examine the need and use of and for after-action reports, debriefings, and hot washes after a non-routine incident. Best practices in conducting such activities will [...]

04 / 18 / 2023

Playing Nice in the Sandbox: The Human Elements of Disaster/Emergency Management and Incident Command

In this course, we discuss the human element of leading and working within a disaster/emergency response incident command system. We will discuss how individuals and agencies might collaborate, communicate, [...]

Katie Nelson

Joint Responses to Major Incidents: How Law Enforcement and Other Partners Can Truly Work Together

Given the sheer number and extent of events and incidents that have been transpiring one after another, public safety agencies are trying to come up with ways to be able [...]

Melissa Reuland

Rob Davis

Jennifer Zeunik

Crisis Intervention Models in Small and Rural Jurisdictions

Police officers and sheriff’s deputies help people in crisis. The crisis though, can be a lot of things, and it includes people going through some sort of mental health [...]

Jonni Redick

Five Things Highly Effective Leaders Can Do During Turbulent Times

Between the riots and civil unrest, use of force incidents, and the pandemic, just to name a few, it’s been a turbulent and crisis-filled ride for law enforcement. While [...]

Vaughn Baker

Introduction to Behavioral Assessments: Preventing Workplace Violence

Violence in schools, workplaces, and other integral organizations costs a lot. From the equipment and infrastructure that is damaged, the business operations that must stop to give way to investigations, [...]

Sandra K. Antoniak

Risk Assessment Tools for Legally Involved Youth

Transitional age brain happens between the age of 13 to 25 years old where there’s a mismatch between the areas of the brain involved in emotions and pleasure and the region [...]

Sandra K. Antoniak

“I Wanted to Know What it Feels Like”: Childhood Psychopathy and Extreme Violence Committed by Youth

One in every ten violent crimes committed in the US is perpetrated by a person younger than 18 years old. Violence perpetrated by youth is truly unsettling. It also makes us, [...]

Ben Gorban

Frank Straub, PhD

Jennifer Zeunik

Creating a Culture of Learning: After-Action Reviews

It’s been said time and again, it’s only failure if you don’t learn from it. In the current political climate where law enforcement is under scrutiny, efforts [...]

Mark Warren

Dealing with High Risk Terminations

By nature, humans tend to avoid thinking of the negative things we have to deal with. This tendency limits our ability to deal with the negativity when it comes. But [...]

Mark Warren

The Psychology of an Active Shooter

Active shooters tend to take their own lives immediately after they carried out their planned destruction. Thus, the motivation behind active shooter attacks remains to be somewhat of a mystery. [...]

Rob Weinhold

The Art of Crisis Leadership

In the law enforcement arena, it is not a matter of if a crisis will hit, but when will it hit. Crises may mean time, money, customers, careers and, in [...]

Clifford Pinkney

David Hutchinson

Mark Pfeifle

James Stuart

David Beth

Crisis Leadership & Communications in a Complex, Headline-Driven World

Incidents of civil unrest have been materializing in different parts of the US. The issue itself is complex and unfortunately, it is the law enforcement agencies that are bearing the [...]

Grant McDougall

School Guardian Programs: A Psychological Perspective

Despite opposing opinions and stances on many factors surrounding school shootings, if there’s one thing that the entire population can agree on it, it is that the carnage has [...]

Jim Martin

Disaster Preparedness: How an Effective Plan Between Custody and Health Services Can Make all the Difference

Preparing for critical incidents – not so easy. How to make it even more challenging? Make the setting be a jail. This is exactly what happens in the scenario Jim Martin [...]

Diane Robinson

A Look at Hurricane Dorian: Were we ready? Lessons about Planning, Preparedness and Future Response

Hurricane Dorian is one of the most recent storms that created massive devastation within the west of the Atlantic Ocean. It struck the Bahamas and other neighboring islands and also [...]

Wendy Stiver

When Relationships Matter Most: Community Resilience, Trust and Critical Incident Management

When push comes to shove planning and preparedness can only go so far. In these instances, building and fostering relationships has been proven to be effective in getting the resources [...]

Mark Warren

Domestic Violence Comes to Work: Signs, Symptoms and Response

Webinar Video Clip: Domestic Violence Comes to Work -- Signs Symptoms and Response Too often, domestic violence is a problem that remains contained within the walls of the household. But [...]

Halcyon Frank

Active Shooter Situations: Is Your Center Prepared?

Preparation is key for 9-1-1 centers in every scenario. Mass shooting incidents are increasing throughout the country. Preparing for the initial calls, gathering the information, and relaying that information [...]

Rob Weinhold

The Art of Crisis Leadership

We often think that we’re all prepared and got all bases covered until a crisis hits us. A crisis can just turn lives and organizations 180 degrees, disrupting established systems [...]

Mark Warren

Ask Me Anything: Workplace Violence and Mass Shootings

In this three-part seminar series we start with a question we often use in class: Somewhere in your community today, there is someone that you believe could be capable of [...]

Janee’ Boswell

2013 Colorado Floods, Boulder’s Emergency Animal Air Rescues: A Military and Animal Control Collaboration

Back in 2013, Colorado was devastated by a natural disaster that affected 17 counties with lives lost, properties destroyed or damaged, and families and animals displaced – at least $2 billion worth of losses. [...]

Mark Warren

Threats and Risk Assessments of Workplace Violence for Justice Agencies

The Workplace Violence webinar series started with a brief overview on the dynamics of the actors, the causes, types, phases, and impact of critical incidents. It also delved into the [...]

Alana Negroni

Impact of an Officer Involved Shooting

Law enforcement has always been an adrenaline-driven field, it is the nature of the job. Some of the incidents police officers find themselves are a little bit more critical than [...]

Mark Warren

Understanding Workplace Violence: Operationalizing Your Prevention Strategies in a Justice Environment

On February 15, 2019, another shooting incident took place – this time around, it is in Aurora, Illinois. Gary Martin, a worker at Henry Pratt Co., open fired and killed five other employees, [...]

Dr. Jeff Fox, PhD

Demystifying Terrorism: A Critical Examination of Modern Terrorism

Terrorism has been happening for longer than we all probably imagine. For most of us, it was 9/11 that put the word terrorism into our vernacular. Since then, modern intelligence strategies [...]

Mark Warren

Does Preparation Equal Prevention? Why Prepare for an Intruder Response Incident

Watching the news, we often hear people saying that they did not expect something terrible to happen in their place of work, worship, leisure, among others. We surely cannot prevent [...]

Cassidee Carlson

Developing a PIO Support Program for Families During Mass Casualty Events

The recent shooting in Kentucky was the 11th of the year, and the worst so far. This statistic is difficult to wrap our heads around as it is only 25 days [...]

Amy Morgan

Mass Casualty Response Resilience / Post Action Strategic Debriefing

Combining elements from industry post-action techniques, and therapy techniques, this course teaches the PASD© method for developing individual and team strength to be better prepared for action, debrief following action, [...]

Cassidee Carlson

Crisis Communications During the Aurora Movie Theater Shooting

A few weeks ago, we went through the detailed timeline of the Century 16 Theatre Shooting in Aurora Colorado. Lieutenant Stephen Redfearn of the Aurora PD recounted the events as a [...]

Stephen Redfearn

Managing Mass Casualty Events: Lessons Learned from the Aurora Movie Theater Shooting

Coming from a horrifying shooting incident in Las Vegas that killed 59 and injured 500 more, the subject of mass shooting is again brought to the spotlight. It sparked lots of debate, [...]

Cheryl Michaels

Lessons from the Seattle Pacific University Shooting

Gun control and its correlation to mass shootings are highly debated issues. Public venues like schools, stadiums, commercial venues, and communities are high-risk targets of such violence which seemingly continues [...]

Dr. Jeff Fox, PhD

Effective Leadership During a Crisis

Leadership during crisis is complex and is most needed in any situation where failure is not an option and there is the potential for extremely negative results. A crisis leader [...]

Amy Morgan

Mass Casualty Response Resilience / Post Action Strategic Debriefing

Working in law enforcement, while incredibly rewarding, can at times also be equally stressful. And then, there’s events like the Pulse Nightclub Shooing in Orlando. Or Sandy Hook Elementary, [...]

Chauncey Bowers

Practice Makes Perfect Conducting First Responder Exercises for Critical Performance Areas

How often do law enforcement, fire, and EMS organizations practice or exercise critical tasks? Conducting exercises targeted towards critical performance areas is a proven method to improve your response to [...]

After the Webinar: Joint Responses to Major Incidents. Q&A with Katie Nelson

Webinar presenter Jonni Redick answered a number of your questions after her presentation, Join Incident Responses to Major Incidents: How Law Enforcement and Other Partners Can Truly Work Together. Here [...]

Thoughts on Planning from Angelina Martin

During the webinar, Social Media and Disaster-Related Events for Animal Shelters, Angelina Martin shared a number of tips and great reminders. While said in the context of disaster planning, this [...]

Thoughts on Disaster Planning from Angelina Martin

Angelina Martin shared a number so many great reminders during her webinar, Social Media Marketing for Animal Shelters. Here’s just one that she shared. "It's not a matter [...]

After the Webinar: Social Media and Disaster Related Events for Animal Shelters. Q&A with Angelina Martin

Webinar presenter Angelina Martin answered a number of your questions after her presentation, Social Media and Disaster-Related Events for Animal Shelters. Here are just a few of her responses. [...]

After the Webinar: Critical Incident Stress Management for ACOs. Q&A with Adam Leath

Webinar presenter Adam Leath answered a number of your questions after his presentation, Critical Incident Stress Management for ACOs. Here are just a few of his responses. Audience Question: [...]

After the Webinar: Five Things Highly Effective Leaders Can Do During Turbulent Times. Q&A with Jonni Redick

Webinar presenter Jonni Redick answered a number of your questions after her presentation, Five Things Highly Effective Leaders Can Do During Turbulent Times. Here are just a few of her [...]

After the Webinar: Crisis Communication Basics. Q&A with Kate Kimble

Webinar presenter Kate Kimble answered a number of your questions after her presentation, Crisis Communication Basics: Speaking Up When You Don't Know What to Say. Here are just a few [...]

After the Webinar: Investigative Psychology. Q&A with Dr. Gabrielle Salfati

Webinar presenter Gabrielle Salfati answered a number of your questions after her presentation, Investigative Psychology: The Latest Science on Offender Profiling and Linking Serial Crimes. Here are just a few [...]

After the Webinar: Protecting Key People in Your Organization. Q&A with Mark Warren

Webinar presenter Mark Warren answered a number of your questions after his presentation, Protecting Key People in Your Organization. Here are just a few of his responses. Audience Question: [...]

After the Webinar: Countering Disinformation Campaigns. Q&A with the Presenters

Webinar presenters Joel Finelstein, John O'Hare, Bob Jensen, Paul Goldenberg, and Mark Pfeifle answered a number of your questions after their presentation, Countering Disinformation Campaigns for Law Enforcement Command Staff, [...]

After the Webinar: Dealing with High Risk Terminations. Q&A with Mark Warren

Webinar presenter Mark Warren answered a number of your questions after his presentation, Dealing with High-Risk Terminations. Here are just a few of his responses. Audience Question: Mark, you've [...]

After the Webinar: The Psychology of an Active Shooter. Q&A with Mark Warren

Webinar presenter Mark Warren answered a number of your questions after his presentation, The Psychology of an Active Shooter. Here are just a few of his responses. Audience Question: [...]

After the Webinar: Crisis Leadership and Communications in a Complex, Headline Driven World. Q&A with the Presenters

Webinar panelists Sheriffs David Hutchinson, James Stuart, David Beth, Clifford Pinkney (ret), presenter Mark Pfeifle and NSA Executive Director Johnathan Thompson answered a number of your questions after their presentation, [...]

After the Webinar: How Public Safety Can Utilize LTE during Planned Events. Q&A with the Presenters

Webinar presenters Jason Johnston and Michael Fletcher answered a number of your questions after their presentation, How Public Safety Can Utilize LTE during Planned Events. Here are just a few [...]

After the Webinar: Post Critical Incident Seminar. Q&A with the Panelists

Webinar presenters Andy Carrier, John McGuire, Kit Cummings, Rita Watkins, and Rev. Eric Skidmore answered a number of your questions after their presentation, Post Critical Incident Seminar: A Tested Solution [...]

After the Webinar: School Guardian Programs. Q&A with Dr. Grant McDougall

Webinar presenter Dr. Grant McDougall answered a number of your questions after his presentation School Guardian Programs: A Psychological Perspective. Here are just a few of his responses. Audience [...]

After the Webinar: Contingency Planning. Q&A with Dr. Jeff Fox, PhD

Webinar presenter Dr. Jeff Fox, PhD answered a number of your questions after his presentation, Continency Planning: Continuity of Operations, Planning, Resiliency, Redundancy, Disaster Recovery, and Crisis Communications. Here are [...]

After the Webinar: When Relationships Matter Most. Q&A with Wendy Stiver

Webinar presenter Wendy Stiver answered a number of your questions after her presentation, When Relationships Matter Most: Community Resilience, Trust, and Critical Incident Management. Here are just a few of [...]

In Case You Missed It: A Snippet from Domestic Violence Comes to Work

Mark Warren of Strategos International shared some incredible insights and advice during his webinar, “Domestic Violence Comes to Work: Signs, Symptoms, and Response.” Here’s just one snippet from the [...]

After the Webinar: Domestic Violence Comes to Work. Q&A with Mark Warren

Webinar presenter Mark Warren answered a number of your questions after his presentation, Domestic Violence Comes to Work: Signs, Symptoms, and Response. Here are just a few of his responses. &[...]

After the Webinar: Rural School Safety. Q&A with the Presenters

Webinar presenters Mike Kersey, Linda Chezem and Don Jones answered a number of your questions after their presentation, Rural School Safety. Here are just a few of their responses. &[...]

Thoughts on Change from Mike Kersey

Love this comment from SWAT Team Leader Mike Kersey made during his recent webinar, Rural School Safety. "The voice of change can sometimes be unpopular." Click Here [...]

After the Webinar: The Art of Crisis Leadership. Q&A with Rob Weinhold

Webinar presenter Rob Weinhold answered a number of your questions after his presentation, The Art of Crisis Leadership. Here are just a few of his responses. Audience Question: A [...]

After the Webinar: Threats & Risk Assessments of Workplace Violence. Q&A with Mark Warren

Webinar presenter Mark Warren answered a number of your questions after his presentation, Threats & Risk Assessments of Workplace Violence for Justice Agencies. Here are just a few of his [...]

After the Webinar: Understanding Workplace Violence. Q&A with Mark Warren

Webinar presenter Mark Warren answered a number of your questions after his presentation, “Understanding Workplace Violence: Operationalizing Your Prevention Strategies in a Justice Environment.” Here are a few of his [...]

After the Webinar: Giving First Responders and Schools an EDGE on Active Shooter Training. Q&A with the Speakers

Webinar presenters Milt Nenneman and Bob Walker answered a number of your questions after their presentation, "Giving First Responders and Schools an EDGE on Active Shooter Training." Here [...]

Active Shooter Training for First Responders and Schools: An Interview with Bob Walker and Milt Nenneman

Christina McCale

Columbine. Newtown. Parkland. Santa Fe. With school shootings becoming an all-too-common recurrence across the US, first responders and school personnel are struggling to find ways to address, plan for and [...]

VIDEO: Parents Behind the Police Line

Mark Warren

In light of the Parkland/Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting, Strategos' Mark Warren shared what families need to know when they've discovered a shooting has happened at [...]

After the Webinar: Effective Response – The Value of Time During an Intruder Response Incident. Q&A with Mark Warren

Webinar presenter Mark Warren answered a number of your questions after his presentation, Effective Response - the Value of Time During an Intruder Response Incident. Here are some of his [...]

The “New Normal:” An Interview with Mark Warren

Christina McCale

Once the police tape has been taken down and the memorial services concluded, somehow the surivors of a mass casualty or active shooter event have to find a way to [...]

Infographic: Does Preparation Equal Prevention? Why Prepare for an Intruder Response Incident

"I never thought it would happen here." So often, after a mass casualty event, people respond that they are shocked that such an incident could happen to them, [...]

After the Webinar: Does Preparation Equal Prevention? Q&A with Mark Warren

Webinar presenter Mark Warren answered a number of your questions after his presentation, Does Preparation Equal Prevention: Why Prepare for an Intruder Response Incident. Here are some of his responses. &[...]

After the Webinar: Developing a PIO Family Support Program during Mass Casualty Events. Q&A with Cassidee Carlson

Webinar presenter Cassidee Carlson answered a number of your questions after her presentation, Developing a PIO Support Program for Families During Mass Casualty Events. Audience Question: [...]

Developing a PIO Support Program for Families During a Mass Casualty Event: An Interview with Cassidee Carlson

Christina McCale

When a major event happens, such as a mass casualty incident, first responder agencies can be deluged by local, national -- even international press... Not to mention social media. It [...]

The Value of Time During an Intruder Response: An Interview with Mark Warren

Christina McCale

Once a critical incident has begun, people have only moments before needing to take action. But without training, it's difficult to know what action to take is the right one. [...]

Does Preparation Equal Prevention: An Interview with Mark Warren

Christina McCale

None of us want to believe an intruder will invade our workplaces and cause murder or mayhem. But workplace violence happens every year... Even at government agencies. Join us for [...]

Crisis Communications Lessons From the Aurora Movie Theater Shooting: an Interview with Cassidee Carlson

Christina McCale

As first responders address the immediate, critical and life-or-death needs of those affected by a mass casualty event, there is an equally important partner often forgotten about during times of [...]

INFOGRAPHIC: Lessons Learned from the Seattle Pacific University Shooting

Cheryl Michaels

This infographic, based on a webinar, reviews the basics of emergency management, the types of mitigation, the 3 step communications plan, and 11-key lessons learned.

Lessons Learned from the Aurora Movie Theater Shooting: An Interview with Lt Stephen Redfearn

Christina McCale

Prior to the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, the Aurora Movie Theatre shooting was the largest mass shooting in U.S. History. The incident will forever be seared into the [...]

Using NamUs for Critical Incident Responses: an Interview with Todd Matthews

Christina McCale

Most of us may immediately think about the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) when dealing with the obvious application - when an unidentified body has been found or [...]

Lessons Learned from the Seattle Pacific University Shooting: an Interview with Cheryl Michaels

Christina McCale

Emergency preparedness doesn't happen overnight - nor does it happen in a vacuum. On June 5, 2014, a man armed with a shotgun killed 1 student and injured 2 more at Seattle Pacific University. [...]

Infographic: What is Trauma?

"The truth, however, is that day-to-day police work includes enough stress and exposure to trauma for chiefs to be concerned about every officer’s mental wellness, whether or [...]

Staying Strong in a Challenging Environment: An Interview with Amy Morgan

Christina McCale

First responders and professionals in the justice/public safety see a lot -- and deal with a lot. First responders see the horrors of situations. Police officers see the worst [...]

Effective Crisis Leadership: An Interview with Dr. Jeff Fox, PhD

Christina McCale

Leadership isn't easy. While managing and leading during a routine day - the type of day where you know the general "outline" of your day might look like or what "[...]

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