RESPONDING TO HIGH-RISE ACTIVE SHOOTERS

On October 1, 2017, a mass shooting took place in Las Vegas in which the active shooter—perched on the thirty-second floor of a high-rise building—killed fifty-eight people at an outdoor concert below. Law enforcement last modified its active-shooter response practices after the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. Since then, agencies across the United States have based their active-shooter responses on the assumption that the shooter is on the move and in the same two-dimensional environment as the responding officers; the response practices, training, and resource requirements do not address a three-dimensional threat in a semi-fixed position. This thesis analyzed case studies from the University of Texas tower shooting, the Mumbai terrorist attack, and the Las Vegas mass shooting to illuminate patterns, nuances, practices, techniques, tactics, and procedures related to high-rise active shooters. The conclusions identified training procedures, equipment considerations, and response practices that may help first responders mitigate damage from similar attacks in the future.

Department dc:contributor.department

National Security Affairs (NSA)

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Seebock, James J.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Miller, Patrick E.
• Dahl, Erik J.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/61267

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/61267