A lot of us are still shaken by the
three mass shootings earlier this week.
Nearly 20 people were shot and killed.
While the recovery process begins
and politicians continue to make
speeches about gun control,
we on to the point have been
asking ourselves what is it going
to take to change what has become
a reality in our everyday lives?
There is no easy answer,
but there are lessons to be learned.
And tonight's main point I
sat down with Sal Cortez.
He is a retired first responder
who heard the last gunshots.
Fired from the gunman in the
Cleveland Elementary School
shooting in Stockton back in 1989,
and he has dedicated his life
to making sure not just first
responders are prepared for an
active shooter situation,
but that all of us are prepared.
One of our start with Cleveland,
because you actually responded to the
Cleveland Elementary school shooting.
What has changed since that school
shooting here in California?
Tremendous amount has changed
since since 1989 and in some
regards some things haven't.
But I think if you're looking at
the big picture of what has changed
since 1989 is that we now have a a,
a system that deals with active shooter
response both at the law enforcement level,
at the medical level and then
also at the civilian level.
It's created a system that more broadly
defines not only individual responsibilities,
but collaborative responsibilities.
Between the agencies including the
development of incident command
systems and Unified Command systems.
Once you get to the scene and
if we could just touch on the medical,
law enforcement and civilian side,
can you just first start with medical,
what's changed on the medical side? Well,
I mean in terms of how,
how first responders on the
medical side understand what,
what can be done to treat
victims of mass casualty events?
Is that 1989 the idea of?
Even simple tourniquets was taboo.
It was broadly thought that the
use of a tourniquet meant that
you were going to lose a limb.
And so.
The idea of of life over limb didn't
didn't strike anyone as something
that that would be more important.
And then on the law enforcement side,
what's really developed there
in the 80s we had kind of a.
Surround and call out kind of
practice and so instead of actually.
Attempting to to go and address the
threat it was more of a circle the
building and try to negotiate them
out and and then my second active
shooter event which I responded
to which was at the Lyndhurst
High School in Olivehurst that's
exactly what happened this the the
shooter entered there there was a
number of fatalities and then he
took hostage a number of students
and as a law enforcement community
we kind of surrounded the place
and started negotiating with them
and so today the response with law
enforcement is much more aggressive.
As it should be,
we're really in a space now where.
It's incumbent upon everybody to
really take care of themselves,
not just law enforcement,
but civilians educating
themselves on how to respond.
To these events as well, I mean,
is that really the space
that we're in as a society?
I think if you looked at this whole
the landscape of mass casualty events
five years ago, you would say no,
our responsibility is in the
law enforcement response and
mitigating the threat and, you know,
dealing with medical care at the time,
but with the evolution of both
the training and response you see.
An evolution in the response of the shooters.
And so they have gotten smarter.
And so not that they are necessarily
understanding the tactics of law enforcement,
but they see the necessity to
be smarter in their response.
And I think the best and most graphic
description of that was the Las Vegas
shooting from the top of the Mandalay Bay.
He had what we like to say is a
tactical advantage over everyone.
And so you now started this evolution.
Of. What does it take to?
Prepare civilian response ensuring that
that civilians take control of their outcome.
Really, that's that's what it's come down to,
the most terrifying and the one that is just.
Um.
Shocking to the senses, to me.
Is how A6 year old.
In Virginia would be inspired to go
to the school and be angry enough
and to have access to a weapon
and go and shoot their teacher.
It makes why does that strike you the most?
Because you would have to assume,
and I'm I'm gonna assume that
this six year old has not had the
opportunity necessarily to see.
All that is available both on social
media and just have life experience.
But somehow this this child did
not like their teacher and the
interesting part of it,
every shooter has given signals that
they were going to do what they did.
And so even with this six year old,
there were signals.
What is the most concerning thing
that you've seen over your years of
experience as being the number one
concern of these mass shootings increase?
The increased intelligence of the shooters,
they're getting smarter.
But we see a number of shooters
now taking tactical high ground in
Illinois and 4th of July this past
year we had a young man who actually
disguised himself after taking
tactical high ground and shooting
down into the crowd and then dressed
as a female and and walked away and
then was attempting to do another
round of shooting when he was caught.
You know about 30 minutes later.
How do we protect ourselves? What do we do?
Yeah, I think it's more important now than.
Than ever to understand our environment
and to be much more alert and keenly
alert of the spaces we go into
and the things that we're doing.
And to not necessarily second guess yourself,
but to at least give yourself the opportunity
to let your senses tell you what you should
be doing and then in addition to that,
having that knowledge.
But not knowing what to do with it
becomes the greater issue and so
again accessing training at any level.
Allows you to feel confident in knowing
exactly what you can do and should do.
These things are not easy to process.
And so we certainly don't want people to be
fearful of just going outside of their house,
but we also don't want them to be,
you know, I would say I don't want you to
be blind to what is not also out there and
just just have some level of awareness,
you know, like you said,
be aware of your environment.
Totally, yeah.
We have more on the lessons learned
since the Cleveland school shooting
on abc10.com slash to the point
because just last week we dedicated
part of our show to this issue,
marking 34 years since the Cleveland
Elementary School shooting.