Death of ISIS leader
The news of today is filled with who may take credit for killing Mohammad al-Adnani, the spokesperson for ISIS; you can guarantee this will inflame the ISIS supporters. These supporters may be anywhere in the world, including within the United States. As with any organization’s supporters, upon death of one of your prominent leaders, retaliation will occur, and likely in the near-term.
Where retaliation may occur
Some terrorist organizations save up all of their resources to carry out terrorist events that are a huge event, such as 9/11. However, ISIS is known for more frequent, non-spectacular events. This is not to say that each of ISIS’ terrorist events does not affect the victims, but these events occur in more mainstream locations.
This [link url=”http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/25/world/map-isis-attacks-around-the-world.html” title=”New York Times article”] outlines ISIS terrorist attacks from October 2014 to July of 2016, noting about one attack per month, on average. Attacks included mass shootings that occurred in places such as café’s, night clubs, and business meetings, and bombings of various urban and suburban targets.
Why it’s hard to intercept
As noted in the San Bernardino and the Orlando nightclub shootings, these events were pulled off by one and two individuals. While I’m certain that our federal agencies are working nonstop trying to intercept the next event before it occurs, the microcosm created by the single and pair terrorists makes it like finding a needle in a haystack versus the clustering that occurs when other groups work for years to coordinate and execute the large-scale events, such as 9/11.
Because this method of operation will continue, Federal agencies are as likely to successful intercepting the next event, as they were the prior, minus some improvements in methodology through learning the networks and telltale signs of the terrorists.
All first responders must prepare
As noted by the location and methodology, ISIS is not going to show up in Times Square and attempt their next attack (99 percent sure) due to the amount of security afforded to that site each day. However, a typical nightclub in Orlando or a business meeting in a smaller California city, or, better yet, the Midwest that has been mostly spared from terrorist attacks in recent history, could make an easier target. Lower security and possibly ill-prepared responders in these locations could potentially make for a large loss of life and lower the feeling of security for the average American.
What we can do immediately
While law enforcement works to prevent the next event, I will focus on the response. If you, as an EDM professional, are not conducting joint training with fire, police, and EMS, you are behind. If you do not have a formal policy to guide well-trained decisions-makers, you are behind.
As noted in a [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/08/26/paramedics-are-taught-not-to-risk-their-lives-after-mass-shootings-they-should/” title=”Washington Post article”] within the past week, the public now has an expectation of a “rescue task force” consisting of police, fire, and EMS that will rescue them from a hostile situation. Don’t fail in the expectation of the public. If you haven’t completed the aforementioned tasks, you have your to-do list for the week.
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