Active shooters: The underutilisation of emergency operations centres — the need for a checklist to guide response and recovery

The emergency operations centre (EOC) is a critical emergency response and recovery component that provides information management and resource allocation. EOCs are often used during all hazards; however, after reviewing over 25 after-action reports for active shooter incidents, they are frequently underutilised. Not activating or delaying activation can slow recovery efforts and lead to chaos for the first responders and the public due to a lack of situational awareness. Historical active shooter incidents, such as the San Bernardino attack, Uvalde school shooting and Aurora theatre shooting, highlight both the challenges and successes of EOC activations. Positive examples, including the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) shooting and Pulse Nightclub attack, demonstrate how timely EOC activation improved resource coordination, victim services and public communications. A specialised active assailant checklist for EOC operations has remained largely absent even though the incidents pose a complex threat. The City of Murrieta and the City of Temecula worked to fill that void. They developed an ‘Active Shooter EOC Checklist’, informed by lessons learned from previous mass shootings and resources such as the ‘United on Guns’ protocol. The checklist guides the agencies through emergency operations, ensuring public communication, victim assistance, volunteer and donation management, recovery and other critical functions are not missed. This paper describes how EOC utilisation can streamline response operations, reduce fatalities and support community recovery efforts. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.