Don't Chase Ghosts

Law enforcement's primary role in an Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Incident is to locate and neutralize the threat — this is ingrained in training and mindset. However, the challenge is transitioning to "Stop the Dying" especially when concerns about complex coordinated terrorist attacks influence decision-making.

But we have to be disciplined in our approach. Without a clear stimulus — ongoing gunfire, known victims, or actionable intelligence — continuing to push forward in search of additional threats risks neglecting the injured. Those victims have only minutes to be stabilized, triaged, and evacuated to definitive care.

If a second crisis site emerges, that responsibility falls to Incident Command — to communicate to the staging manager and deploy additional resources from staging, or redirect personnel already inside. It is not the role of patrol officers to self-deploy and conduct full-scale, stimulus-free structure clearing. That mission belongs to SWAT, with the training and equipment to do it safely and deliberately.

Additionally, in a true complex coordinated attack, blindly advancing without purpose increases the risk of walking into a secondary ambush. This requires restraint — something that runs counter to the instincts of many high-performing, action-oriented officers. But discipline saves lives.

Priorities of Life

We must anchor ourselves to the priorities of life:

• 1.Hostages
• 2.Innocents
• 3.First Responders
• 4.Suspect

Stop the Killing → Then immediately shift to Stop the Dying.