As police in the Bay Area and across the nation seek to curb mass shootings, they face a central challenge: Gunmen often act too quickly for law enforcement officers to respond.
An FBI study of “active shooter incidents” released Wednesday found not only that the U.S. has seen a spike in such attacks over the past seven years, but that most of the incidents ended within minutes and before police could arrive.
The FBI report documented 160 shootings in the U.S. between 2000 and 2013, which killed 486 people and wounded 557 more. Seventy percent of the cases in which the duration of the shooting could be determined were over within five minutes.
More than half ended at the shooter’s discretion — mostly when he fled or took his own life — while unarmed civilians stepped in and took down gunmen 13 percent of the time, according to the report.
“Even when law enforcement was present or able to respond within minutes, civilians often had to make life and death decisions, and, therefore, should be engaged in training and discussions on decisions they may face,” the report’s authors concluded.
The report defined mass shootings as situations featuring “individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in populated areas,” such as the April 2012 rampage at Oikos University in Oakland, where a former student killed seven people.
The gunman, One Goh, as was typical in the incidents, shot his victims and left the scene within five minutes, before police arrived. He soon turned himself in.
Violence related to drug and gang disputes was excluded from the FBI study.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by TheCount
Connect With Us