Sadly, municipal leaders need to think about – not if – but when a mass shooting occurs, how should my community prepare, respond, and recover? PHAI’s UnitedOnGuns Initiative has the resources to help mayors and city managers be ready for these tragedies. These include a Mass Shooting Protocol and Mass Shooting Playbook.
The Protocol is a four-page overview of a mayor’s role during the first 24 hours after a mass shooting. The Playbook is a 200-page resource guide informed by the recommendations and experience of mayors who have responded to a mass shooting.
UnitedOnGuns’ Director, Sarah Peck, was interviewed about these resources on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered on May 21, 2022, regarding the mass shooting in Buffalo, NY, and on May 26, 2022, in the wake of the mass murders in the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Admittedly, these resources produced by PHAI will not solve any of the structural problems that cause mass shootings, but they can help communities to be prepared and mitigate some of the horrors of these all too-common events.