http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d26c29ff-f134-4202-bc40-947534a6de3c
When Seconds Count: Stopping Active Killers
Reported by: Brendan Keefe
Email: [email protected]
Last Update: 11/14 1:22 am
Related Links
There have been so many school shootings over the last 40 years that
researchers have been able to develop a profile of the typical mass
murderer.
They're called "active shooters" or "active killers" and their crimes play
out in a matter of minutes.
After the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, police changed their
tactics.
The two student gunmen killed 15 people and themselves before the SWAT team was in position. Commanders realized that it simply takes too long to assemble a tactical team in time to stop an active killer.
The new tactics developed in response to Columbine involved creating an
ad-hoc tactical team using the first four or five patrol officers on the
scene.They would enter the shooting scene in a diamond formation with guns pointing in all directions.
This technique was employed by police departments around the country.
Then 32 people were killed by a lone gunman at Virginia Tech in April 2007.
Seung Hui Cho shot 47 people, 30 fatally, in the university's Norris Hall in
just 11 minutes. That means every minute he killed more than three people and shot a total of four.
Once again, the gunman continued shooting until a four-officer team made
entry and then he killed himself.
Law enforcement reviewed its tactics.
Based on the Virginia Tech data, experts determined the first officer on
scene should make entry immediately with an aggressive attack on the
shooter.
Every minute the officer waits for back-up, another three or more people
could die.
In other words, while it was once considered suicide for a lone officer to
take on an active killer, it is now considered statistical homicide for him
not to do so.
Tactical Defense Institute in Adams County, Ohio developed one of the first
"single officer response" programs in the nation.
TDI was teaching the tactic even before Virginia Tech. Now the National
School Resource Officer Organization (NSRO) is using TDI instructors to
teach school resource officers how to confront a gunman immediately.
Locally, all Blue Ash police officers are trained in these new tactics in
large part because their chief, Col. Chris Wallace, is also a TDI
instructor.
The other statistic that emerged from a study of active killers is that they
almost exclusively seek out "gun free" zones for their attacks.
In most states, concealed handguns are prohibited at schools and on college
campuses even for those with permits.
Many malls and workplaces also place signs at their entrances prohibiting
firearms on the premises.
Now tacticians believe the signs themselves may be an invitation to the
active killers.
<EDITORIAL interjection: Well, Duh! Ya think?>
The psychological profile of a mass murderer indicates he is looking to
inflict the most casualties as quickly as possible.
Also, the data show most active killers have no intention of surviving the
event.
They may select schools and shopping malls because of the large number of
defenseless victims and the virtual guarantee no on the scene one is armed.
As soon as they're confronted by any armed resistance, the shooters
typically turn the gun on themselves.
When Seconds Count: Stopping Active Killers
Reported by: Brendan Keefe
Email: [email protected]
Last Update: 11/14 1:22 am
Related Links
There have been so many school shootings over the last 40 years that
researchers have been able to develop a profile of the typical mass
murderer.
They're called "active shooters" or "active killers" and their crimes play
out in a matter of minutes.
After the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, police changed their
tactics.
The two student gunmen killed 15 people and themselves before the SWAT team was in position. Commanders realized that it simply takes too long to assemble a tactical team in time to stop an active killer.
The new tactics developed in response to Columbine involved creating an
ad-hoc tactical team using the first four or five patrol officers on the
scene.They would enter the shooting scene in a diamond formation with guns pointing in all directions.
This technique was employed by police departments around the country.
Then 32 people were killed by a lone gunman at Virginia Tech in April 2007.
Seung Hui Cho shot 47 people, 30 fatally, in the university's Norris Hall in
just 11 minutes. That means every minute he killed more than three people and shot a total of four.
Once again, the gunman continued shooting until a four-officer team made
entry and then he killed himself.
Law enforcement reviewed its tactics.
Based on the Virginia Tech data, experts determined the first officer on
scene should make entry immediately with an aggressive attack on the
shooter.
Every minute the officer waits for back-up, another three or more people
could die.
In other words, while it was once considered suicide for a lone officer to
take on an active killer, it is now considered statistical homicide for him
not to do so.
Tactical Defense Institute in Adams County, Ohio developed one of the first
"single officer response" programs in the nation.
TDI was teaching the tactic even before Virginia Tech. Now the National
School Resource Officer Organization (NSRO) is using TDI instructors to
teach school resource officers how to confront a gunman immediately.
Locally, all Blue Ash police officers are trained in these new tactics in
large part because their chief, Col. Chris Wallace, is also a TDI
instructor.
The other statistic that emerged from a study of active killers is that they
almost exclusively seek out "gun free" zones for their attacks.
In most states, concealed handguns are prohibited at schools and on college
campuses even for those with permits.
Many malls and workplaces also place signs at their entrances prohibiting
firearms on the premises.
Now tacticians believe the signs themselves may be an invitation to the
active killers.
<EDITORIAL interjection: Well, Duh! Ya think?>
The psychological profile of a mass murderer indicates he is looking to
inflict the most casualties as quickly as possible.
Also, the data show most active killers have no intention of surviving the
event.
They may select schools and shopping malls because of the large number of
defenseless victims and the virtual guarantee no on the scene one is armed.
As soon as they're confronted by any armed resistance, the shooters
typically turn the gun on themselves.