Joint Public Safety Response to the Active Shooter / Active Assailant™

 

Active shooter and active assailant incidents continue to challenge public safety agencies across the United States. Events such as Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Sandy Hook, San Bernardino, Orlando, Las Vegas, Uvalde, and many others have demonstrated the need for coordinated law enforcement, fire, EMS, and emergency communications response. While rapid law enforcement intervention remains critical, research has shown that fast arrival alone does not guarantee successful outcomes. Effective response requires integrated planning, coordinated operations, rapid medical intervention, and unified command among all public safety disciplines.

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Active Assailant Response by the Numbers

200,000+ responders trained • 75+ full-scale active shooter exercises conducted • 50+ tabletop exercises facilitated • 4,000+ responders trained in one of the nation's largest regional active shooter response programs • 500+ scholarly references supporting course content

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Course Content

This course examines the history and evolution of active assailant incidents, including attacks involving firearms, edged weapons, vehicles, and other means of mass violence. Many attackers have adapted their tactics over time based on research and observations of previous events. Participants will explore the active assailant "Stopwatch of Death," offender profiles, behavioral indicators, and the motivations commonly associated with revenge-driven, grievance-based, ideological, and mass casualty attackers.

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The presentation also addresses law enforcement response priorities, tactical considerations, command and control challenges, tactical breaching concepts, casualty collection points, victim rescue operations, and Rescue Task Force implementation. Special emphasis is placed on the integration of law enforcement, fire, EMS, and emergency communications personnel into a unified response framework.

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Joint Public Safety Response

Numerous national organizations have concluded that integrated law enforcement, fire, and EMS response is essential during active shooter and active assailant incidents. These organizations include the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Tactical Officers Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Association of EMTs, the Hartford Consensus, the National Fire Protection Association, the Department of Defense, and many others.

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This course examines how these recommendations can be translated into practical response plans, operational procedures, training programs, and field operations that improve responder coordination and patient outcomes.

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Emergency Communications

A dedicated section of the presentation addresses the role of 9-1-1 and emergency communications personnel during active assailant incidents. Topics include overwhelming call volume, call prioritization, protocol deconfliction, stale information, PSAP-to-PSAP coordination, information flow to responders, and lessons learned from major incidents throughout the United States.

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Legal Liability and Risk Management

Active shooter incidents have generated significant litigation involving law enforcement, fire, EMS, educational institutions, private organizations, and local governments. Court rulings have increasingly recognized active assailant incidents as foreseeable emergencies requiring comprehensive planning, preparation, training, and coordinated response.

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Participants will review major legal cases, emerging liability trends, and the practical steps agencies can take to reduce risk through planning, training, exercises, and integrated response protocols.

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Lessons Learned from Major Incidents

The course analyzes operational lessons learned from numerous active shooter and active assailant incidents. Topics include multiple-scene management, asymmetric attacker tactics, casualty collection points, medical care under threat conditions, Rescue Task Force deployment, victim management, command and control, and resource coordination. All lessons are supported by research, after-action reports, and real-world case studies.

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Threat Suppression Experience

Several Threat Suppression personnel led the development and implementation of one of the nation's largest joint public safety active assailant response programs, training more than 4,000 responders in Charlotte, North Carolina. Threat Suppression personnel have also led or participated in more than 75 full-scale exercises and 50 tabletop exercises focused on active shooter response.

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Threat Suppression has trained more than 200,000 public safety professionals from local, state, federal, and international agencies on active shooter and active assailant response. Personnel have served in command roles during real-world active shooter incidents, including four mall shootings,  the April 30, 2019 mass shooting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the April 30, 2024 U.S. Marshal's ambush in which eight officers were shot and four killed.

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Threat Suppression personnel have also conducted site visits, walkthroughs, and incident analysis at numerous active shooter event locations, including Columbine High School, Aurora Theater, Emanuel AME Church, Pulse Nightclub, Inland Regional Center, Sutherland Springs, Oxford High School, Townville Elementary School, and many other major incident locations nationwide.

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Research-Based Instruction

This presentation is supported by more than 500 scholarly references, government studies, after-action reports, incident investigations, and lessons learned from major active assailant events. The course combines academic research with practical operational experience gained through training, exercises, incident response, and program development.

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Course Materials

For a detailed course description, download the course PDF below. For information regarding hosting this course, download the Frequently Asked Questions document below. ​If you would like more information on booking this course, please email info@ThreatSuppression.com, or call 1-800-231-9106. 

 

Last updated June 22, 2026.