NYPD’s Lessons Learned From Tucson-Style Shootings

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The New York Police Department on Jan. 20 gave security officials from the city’s private sector an analysis of active shooter attacks that have taken place over the last 45 years. The analysis noted that the overwhelming majority of such attacks, which are similar to the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson, Ariz., involve a single attacker that is actively killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area. According to Jessica Tisch, the director of policy and planning at the NYPD’s counterterrorism squad, the fact that 98 percent of active shooter attacks are carried out by just one individual makes them more difficult to detect before they take place. The analysis also found that 46 percent of active shooter attacks ended after law enforcement or bystanders used force against the attacker, while 40 percent ended after the attacker committed suicide. Meanwhile, the NYPD’s Capt. Michael Riggio provided advice to corporate business security officials in attendance at a conference in Manhattan on how to handle active shooter attacks. He said that companies should prepare drills that simulate such attacks and create a room stocked with medical supplies that employees can flee to in the event a shooter is in the building. Riggio also noted that employees should be trained to not approach police officers responding to an active shooter attack, and to evacuate the building with their hands open and above their heads. Finally, Riggio said that if employees cannot avoid a confrontation with the shooter, they should arm themselves with whatever they can find and attack him as aggressively and violently as possible.

By:  Armour National Security Group, LLC – (A New York Security Firm)