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City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan
<br />Part I Basic Plan
<br />Primary Examples of Active Shooter Incidents
<br />University of Texas -Austin — The first event now recognized as an ASI occurred on August 1, 1966 at the
<br />University of Texas -Austin campus. A university student, who was formerly trained as a Marine Corps sniper,
<br />killed two family members in their homes and then climbed to the 27' floor observation deck of the university
<br />clock tower, armed with rifles, pistols and a shotgun. For one and a half hours the sniper fired on anyone within
<br />view from the tower, killing 13 and wounding 31 more, until police officers were able to get into the building,
<br />ascend to the top and kill him with return fire.
<br />Columbine High School — On April 20, 1999, two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado
<br />entered the school armed with semi -automatic handguns and sawed-off shotguns concealed in their clothing. They
<br />also placed a number of improvised explosive devices around the school as they entered. Working together, the
<br />two walked through the cafeteria and library areas of the school, opening fire on students and faculty, killing 13
<br />and wounding 21 more, and detonating the devices. After about 50 minutes, when they could find no more victims
<br />and law enforcement officers were closing in, the two simultaneously committed suicide.
<br />The Columbine shooting really introduced the concept of an ASI. Prior to this, police response was designed
<br />toward stabilizing and containing the situation, gathering resources and organizing a SWAT -type response, and if
<br />possible, negotiating for a peaceful outcome with no more lives lost. Columbine brought the realization that in
<br />an ASI, the shooter(s) do not want to stabilize the situation or negotiate for any other outcome, their primary goal
<br />is to kill and injure as many people as they can as quickly as possible. In most cases, the active shooter does not
<br />even plan to survive the event. Accordingly, law enforcement tactics had to change to rapid intervention with the
<br />best resources that are immediately available.
<br />Las Vegas Strip — On October 1, 2017 at 10:05 PM, a lone gunman opened fire on a crowd of thousands attending
<br />the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, an outdoor music concert staged on the Las Vegas Strip. The gunman
<br />opened fire, using multiple weapons converted to automatic -fire, from a 32' floor room of the Mandalay Bay
<br />Hotel, which overlooked the concert. Over 10 minutes, he fired more than 1,100 rounds into the crowd (more
<br />than 100 rounds per minute), before killing himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound when police and security
<br />officers began preparing to make entry into the room.
<br />This became the deadliest mass shooting event in the United States, to date. Concertgoers and officials initially
<br />did not identify the sound of gunfire over the concert music and could not immediately locate the source of the
<br />gunfire coming from high above the street. Concertgoers were in a very exposed location, unable to take cover
<br />from the raised sniper position, and unable to quickly or safely evacuate such a large, crowded venue. This ASI
<br />resulted in a true mass -casualty event, with over 900 direct victims: 58 people were killed and 422 more were
<br />wounded by gunfire, and 429 more were injured taking cover or running from the event.
<br />Robb Elementary School - On May 24, 2022 at approximately 11:30 AM, a teenage gunman entered Robb
<br />Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, opening fire on students and teachers, firing more than 100 rounds from an
<br />AR-15 assault rifle in approximately two and a half minutes. A delayed law enforcement response allowed the
<br />gunman to remain barricaded in a classroom with wounded victims for approximately one hour and 20 minutes,
<br />before officers breached the classroom and killed the shooter in a gun battle. Nineteen third and fourth grade
<br />students and two teachers were killed; seventeen more students and teachers were wounded.
<br />Highest Casualty Count Events - The FBI Active Shooter Study compiled statistics on the worst -case (highest
<br />casualty count) incidents occurring between 2000 and June 2016. The chart below lists these events, with the
<br />University of Texas and Columbine High School events, which occurred before the years of the study, and the
<br />Las Vegas Strip event, which occurred after, also inserted, in order:
<br />85
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