Active Shooter Preparedness Workshop
Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Active Shooter Preparedness Workshop
March 19, 2020
26th Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
Given today’s ever-changing threat environment, preparing for and training employees to cope with workplace violence should be a key piece of an organization’s incident response planning.
A Unique Training Opportunity
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is hosting a one-day security workshop to enhance awareness of, and response to, an active shooter event:
- Educating participants on the history of active shooter events.
- Describing common behavior, conditions, and situations associated with active shooters.
- Fostering communication between critical infrastructure owners and operators and local emergency response teams. This course includes discussions of interoperability, communications protocols, and best practices for planning, preparedness, and response.
Building Emergency Planning Capabilities
The event will also describe how to incorporate key elements of successful incident management into planning efforts including:
- Communication and incident planning for employees
- Emergency action plan development
- Recognizing behavioral indicators
- Coordinating with first responders.
Understanding Liability and Risk Exposure
The workshop focuses on providing awareness training that supports the development of emergency action planning capabilities. These capabilities may better position private sector organizations in receiving important legal liability protections from the DHS Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act of 2002.
Following the 9/11 attacks, the private sector became very concerned about the risk of liability they would face in the event that their product, service, or layered security program (e.g., Technology) was impacted by an act of terrorism. The SAFETY Act seeks to mitigate those risks by encouraging the wide-spread deployment of effective anti-terrorism technologies by providing legal protections that cap or dismiss liability in the event of an act of terrorism.
To learn more about the SAFETY Act and the types of products, services, and layered security programs that have received protections, visit www.safetyact.gov.
Who Should Participate?
This event is open to:
- Corporate and facility security professionals from the private and public sectors
- Supervisory first responders
- Human resource managers
- Community response officials
- Homeland security representatives
Agenda
Time Event
8:00 A.M. Registration Begins
8:30 A.M. Opening Remarks and Welcome; Modules 1-3 (Recognition, Prevention, Protection)
12:00 P.M. Lunch
1:00 P.M. Modules 4-6 (Mitigation, Response, Recovery)
4:00 P.M. Closing Remarks
Notes: A government-issued ID (license) will be required for entry.
Registration
- Registration for this event is free; please click here to register or copy/paste the following address in your browser: https://www.govevents.com/details/36324/dhs-active-shooter-preparedness-workshop–new-york-ny/.
- Registration closes 03/16/2020 at 12:00 pm (EDT).
- Limited seating is available; 2 slots per organization. Additional attendees will be approved on a case-by-case basis.
- Note: If your plans change, please notify us so we can accommodate others on the waiting list.
What’s a narwahl?
When training for an active attacker incident (they are not all shooters) the experts agree that that there are three options: run, hide or, if your life depends on it, fight using whatever is at hand to stop the attacker (see JCRC-NY’s) dedicated webpage www.jcrcny.org/activeshooter for more information)
During many trainings we’ve cited a June 2017 incident in the London Bridge vicinity. After ramming pedestrians and totaling their van, the attackers jumped out and wielded knives. They entered the Boro Bistro and were soon met with a fusillade of pub stools and pint mugs. The terrorists promptly exited. QED. Use whatever is at hand.
During an attack last week in the London Bridge area, the well-trained staff of Fishmonger’s Hall knew what to do in the event of an attack. They saved lives when jumped into action fighting off the attacker, even using a 5 foot narwahl tusk and a fire extinguisher.
Thanks to Carly Maisels for this detailed account. When we train our constituencies for active attackers our goal should be to empower them so that they can do whatever needs to be done.
The Chief Executive of Fishmonger’s Hall pays tribute to the bravery his staff showed during the London Bridge attack. #BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/mnXFILlBTR
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) December 2, 2019
Who might commit a mass killing? New insights.
One of the surest ways to prevent a mass shooting is to identify potential threats before they actually attack. Often the threats are “insiders”.
James Densley, co-founder of the Violence Project and a criminal justice professor at Metropolitan State University, said researchers looked at factors in the lives of shooters, including mental health troubles, whether they considered suicide, and how they had access to guns. These findings were reported in the New York Times/Associated Press:
“For a start, we need to be a little bit more attuned to the fact that people are in crisis, and are looking for help, and perhaps aren’t getting it.” Researchers found that 98 percent of mass shooters were men and that 52 percent were white. The proportion of mass shooters who had been diagnosed with mental health conditions was only slightly higher than the general population, according to researchers.
Importantly, school mass shooters are most often insiders. Here are more recent tools to help with threat assessments:
- Protecting America’s Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence. Ensuring safe learning environments for elementary and secondary school students, educators, administrators, and others is essential. Consider what role you can play in the larger efforts to make our schools safer.
- Making Prevention a Reality: Identifying, Assessing, and Managing the Threat of Targeted Attacks. This report, a practical guide on assessing and managing the threat of targeted violence, contains concrete strategies to help communities prevent these types of incidents. United States Department of Justice. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
DHS Active Shooter Training | Nov 15
DHS CISA Region-II Training & Exercise Coordinator, cordially invites you to participate in a one-day active shooter security workshop. Be advised Registration closes 11/13/2019 at 12:00 pm. Link is provided on the flyer and here https://www.govevents.com/
November 15th, 2019 (8:30am – 4:00pm)
Pace University, New York City Campus
One Pace Plaza (Student Center West)
New York, NY 10038
Preparing all of your constituencies for a potential active shooter incident is an integral component of an organization’s incident response planning. Because active shooter incidents are unpredictable and evolve quickly, preparing for and knowing what to do in an active shooter situation can be the difference between life and death. Every second counts.
A Unique Training Opportunity
Pace University and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, are hosting a one-day security workshop to enhance awareness of, and response to, an active shooter event:
- Educating participants on the history of active shooter events.
- Describing common behavior, conditions, and situations associated with active shooters.
- Fostering communication between critical infrastructure owners and operators and local emergency response teams. This course includes discussions of interoperability, communications protocols, and best practices for planning, preparedness, and response.
Who Should Participate?
This event is open to:
- Organization and corporate and facility security professionals and leaders from the private and public sectors
- Supervisory first responders
- Human resource managers
- Community response officials
- Homeland security representatives
Registration
- Registration for this event is free; please click here to register.
- Registration closes 11/13/2019 at 12:00 pm (EDT).
Please see attached flyer and invitation for more details on this workshop. We appreciate your engagement in this process; your participation will enhance and contribute significantly to building your organization’s incident response plans. Should you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.
Very Respectfully,
Stephen Allyn
Region-II Training & Exercise Coordinator (RTEC)
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Northeast & Caribbean NY~NJ~PR~USVI
Cell: (917) 710-4764 | Stephen.Allyn@hq.
Operation Desert Storm – Iraqi Freedom – Enduring Freedom
New DHS resource guide and mail screening poster
New resource guide. Take a look at DHS’ new resource guide, Security of Soft Targets and Crowded Places. It’s essentially a one-stop table of contents for DHS’s free materials, including links for help on identifying suspicious activity, access control and screening, active assailants (they’re not just shooters anymore) and bomb threats. Follow the supplied links for an introduction to facility security that can serve as a good first step for houses of worship, schools and other soft targets. Resources include fact sheets, guidance, and online training and education courses.
Mail screening poster. Thanks to the world’s leading geopolitical intelligence platform, Stratfor, for its timely reminder about mail and package screening after an attempted bombing.
- While many questions remain in the case of a parcel bomb sent to a Mexican senator, the largest is why the mail of such a high-level official was not screened.
- While politicians and large corporations clearly must take significant measures to screen their mail, even ordinary people (and Jewish organizations) should open their mail cautiously.
- Simple steps can help everyone from the largest entities to the average citizen.
Note that Cesar Sayoc, 57, admitted in court to having mailed 16 explosive devices to a variety of officials and to CNN’s offices in October 2018. He allegedly said he would “eradicate the Jews” if he had the power to, along with lesbians, black people and Hispanic people.
We urge you to download the tips found on the Stratfor graphic and share it with your staff and others.