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City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan
<br />Part I Basic Plan
<br />2.4.9 Targeted Act of Violence
<br />Targeted violence refers to premeditated violence directed at specific individuals, groups, or locations.
<br />Perpetrators select their targets to achieve a specific motive, such as the resolution of a real or perceived grievance
<br />or to make a political or ideological statement. Targeted violence is distinguished from ordinary criminal acts,
<br />such as robberies or assaults, by pre -attack behaviors that suggest violence is planned and is the intended outcome,
<br />rather than an impulsive, random or spontaneous act.
<br />Targeted violence may be carried out by lone offenders or by individuals belonging to one or more hate groups.
<br />Targeted violence is most often carried out in the form of an "active shooter" or mass shootings, but may also
<br />include attacks with edged weapons, improvised explosive devices, ramming a vehicle into a crowd, or a
<br />combination of several of these methods.
<br />Active Shooter Incidents Defined
<br />The United States Departments of Justice and Homeland Security define an active shooter as an individual actively
<br />engaged in killing or attempting to kill people (with the use of firearms) in a populated area. The definition has
<br />been modified to recognize that in some cases, there could be multiple shooters and the area may span multiple
<br />locations. A mass shooting is defined by these agencies as the shooting of three or more people in one incident.
<br />For the purposes of this Plan, the key characteristics are shooting that is still occurring when law enforcement and
<br />emergency medical responders are dispatched and which results in multiple or numerous victims.
<br />Active Shooter Incidents (ASI), or other targeted acts of violence, frequently occur with no specific motivation
<br />against any individual victim, instead the motivation may be a generalized sense of grievance, anger or resentment
<br />or a general desire to inflict harm on others. In some cases, the incident may begin from a pre-existing personal
<br />or employment relationship or a grievance against a class of people based on some social, political, religious or
<br />other characteristics. And in some cases, terrorist groups or sympathizers may use targeted violence to inflict
<br />harm. But regardless of motivation, once targeted violence is initiated, the goal is usually to kill and injure as
<br />many persons as possible and the perpetrator(s) are usually not interested in any other outcome.
<br />Characteristics of Active Shooter Incidents
<br />The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) compiled A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States
<br />Between 2000 and 2013 and supplemented this with Active Shooter Incidents 20-Year Review, 2000-2019. These
<br />papers studied 333 ASI's during those years, and updated statistics added 151 more events from 2020 through
<br />2022. This averages a little over 21incidents per year or almost two each month. The average annual occurrence
<br />is rising, with an average of 6.4 incidents occurring in each of the first 7 years of the study, 16.4 incidents occurring
<br />in each of the second 7 years, and 33.4 incidents per year in the final 9 years.
<br />ASI's have occurred in virtually any place where multiple persons can gather together, including businesses open
<br />to public traffic, businesses not open to public traffic, shopping centers, sports or entertainment venues,
<br />government buildings and courthouses, schools and colleges of all grade levels, military bases, health care
<br />facilities, religious institutions, night clubs, and parks or other open spaces. Most incidents occurred in businesses
<br />or other commercial venues (46%), schools and colleges (24%), and government or military facilities (10%). In
<br />over 15% of cases, the incident occurred in more than one location.
<br />In 60% of the cases studied, the incident ended before law enforcement arrived on the scene. In incidents where
<br />the actual time duration could be ascertained, 69% of the incidents ended in 5 minutes or less. In 56% of the
<br />cases, the incident ended at the shooter's initiative, either by the shooter committing suicide (40% of incidents),
<br />or by the shooter fleeing or surrendering. In 28% of the cases, the incident ended with law enforcement engaging
<br />the shooter in gunfire. In 13% of the cases, the incident ended after citizens or off -duty officers intervened to
<br />restrain the shooter.
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