Active Shooter Risk Incident Information Profile Management

1. Active Shooter Incident Management System
Introduction
CDC has indicated that active shooter gun violence as a major public health issue. There have
been several intervention programs designed to prevent gun violence. However, there has not been
adequate research on managing the onset and immediate aftermath of an active shooter incident.
Existing management efforts are derived from emergency preparedness and disaster management
paradigms. The current proposal advocates an approach based on outbreak management paradigm
derived from Epidemiology. Active shooter incidents bear closer resemblance to outbreaks of
epidemics than they do to natural disasters. The proven epidemiological methods of containing and
managing outbreaks should be adapted and applied to managing active shooter incidents.
Incident Risk Information Profile
In an epidemic outbreak of a disease the first step is to verify the existence of an outbreak using
valid empirical data. The next step is to generate an incident risk information profile based on several
factors such as disease etiology, rate of spread, areas of spread etc. The subsequent step is to
disseminate the incident risk information profile to the entire system of stakeholders such as law
enforcement, local medical personnel, emergency responders and the media. The various stakeholders
will have role­based access to the risk information profile i.e. on a “need to know” basis commensurate
with their role in incident management. The same approach is certainly applicable to the management of
an active shooter incident. However, this approach has not been followed in the active shooter
incidents so far.
Beneficial Outcomes
Creation of an incident risk information profile will help the authorities­in­charge manage the
incident better and it would also help them to proactively predict and manage other consequences such
as media frenzy. It is imperative that the media be included as a stakeholder in the incident management
process. A well­informed media would help disseminate accurate information to the public and quell
incidents of public panic, civil unrest and reactive violence. The added benefit of a well­informed public
would be avoidance of other panic behaviors such as overloading 911 with inquiries and overwhelming
local medical facilities. The primary teams managing the crisis (Law enforcement, SWAT and
Emergency responders) would also benefit from the incident risk information profile. A validated and
accurate “single source of truth” greatly improves communications and coordination in tense, rapidly
evolving situations. Also, a real­time feed would help in disseminating the latest information and

2. keeping everyone in sync.
Active Shooter Incident Management System
The current proposal is to integrate the profile, the feed and other features into an integrated
Active shooter incident management system similar to the incident management systems of epidemic
outbreaks. The Incident risk information profile and the real­time feed would be integral parts of the
system. Role­based access control will be implemented to provide specific views of the information
based on the role of the stakeholders. Integration with mass media and social would also be provided
to keep the public informed. Such a system would prove immensely beneficial in managing active
shooter incidents.
Context Diagram