The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency will host an active shooter preparedness webinar to strengthen resilience and protocol for businesses in case of an active shooter incident.
This free virtual two-hour event, scheduled for August 16, will cover readiness, emergency planning, communication protocols, and response planning. Participants will learn about common behaviors associated with active shooter events and workplace violence indicators.
Jeff Kelly, Regional External Affairs Officer for Region 7 of CISA, said the webinars will be led by law enforcement, military, and security personnel that provide unique perspectives and tangible insight into the active shooter threat and corresponding risk mitigation solutions.
“Webinars are conducted collaboratively between the CISA Active Shooter Preparedness Program managed by CISA Headquarters and our regional CISA staff. All involved maintain a wide variety of security expertise.” Kelly said.
Mark Kraft, a retired federal law enforcement officer, said, “The purpose is to talk about the nature of the threat, to help develop a plan if you don’t already have one, and to update your plan if you do have one.” Kraft specializes in violent firearm crime and has more than 30 years of experience with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (AFT).
Established in 2011, the CISA Active Shooter Preparedness Program has delivered webinars beginning four years ago in August 2020.
“CISA has conducted over 350 no-cost webinars with more than 55,000 participants. During that time frame, 31 webinars have been conducted with more than 5,800 participants representing Region 7.” Kelly said.
The overview of the webinar will cover six of the most important steps regarding an active shooter which includes recognition, prevention, protection, mitigation, and response. Kraft said that with these steps, organizations should be able to implement a feasible plan for themselves and their individuals.
“The emphasis of the webinars is to support organizations in developing effective emergency action plans and considering measures that can be incorporated to mitigate the impacts of an incident,” Kelly said.
The event is hosted by CISA’s Region 7, which includes Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri, however, stakeholders from other regions are welcome to attend. CISA encourages participation from a diverse range of organizations, including the private and public sectors, corporate and facility security professionals, community response officials, faith-based leaders, and school administrators.
In addition to webinars, CISA and Protective Security Advisors (PSAs) offer various training, exercises, and assessments. These include facility walk-throughs, vehicle-borne threat detection, surveillance protection, and sports and entertainment venue bombing prevention solutions.
“CISA maintains a cadre of security experts nationwide, working directly with stakeholders to understand threats, identify vulnerabilities, and propose risk mitigation solutions,” Kelly said.
2023 Active Shooter Report
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice released the 2023 Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Report last month on June 24. The report shows that there was a decrease in active shooting incidents in 2023, with a total of 48, compared to 50 in 2022. Though a decrease, the number of active shooter incidents has risen by 60% since 2019.
The report shows that there were 105 deaths and 130 injured individuals in 2023 due to active shooters. A majority of these incidents happened in open spaces at 58%, followed by commerce at 29%, and 6% of incidents occurred in education spaces.
In 2023, 26 states encountered an active shooting incident; however, Kansas did not see any incidents. California saw the most incidents with eight, followed by Texas and Washington with four. Region 7 saw one incident in Missouri on Aug. 2, one person was killed, and two were wounded.
Organizations can stay up-to-date on both in-person and virtual events offered by CISA by visiting https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/events.
