Crime & Safety

Sandy Springs Police Chief Explains First Steps if a Bombing or Mass Shooting Occurs

A Sandy Springs detective works full-time on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Atlanta FBI office.

 

Since the Boston bombings, worried Sandy Springs residents have wondered if it could happen here.

Sandy Springs experienced two bombings in 1997.

Police Chief Ken DeSimone recently explained the initial steps of first responders if a mass shooting or attack occurs. 

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“The first thing is respond to the scene,” he said. “Take control of the scene and set up command; provide first aid to the victims and start getting them out to hospitals or triage, then start the investigation.

DeSimone said the Joint Terrorism Task Force would be one of the SSPD’s first calls.

Find out what's happening in Sandy Springswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A Sandy Springs detective works full-time on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Atlanta FBI office. 

Last week, DeSimone told Patch, "If we have something come up that’s unusual, that we need to check out more, then we can assign it to him and he has all the assets and backing of the FBI.”

DeSimone added, “When the FBI comes up here, [that detective] is embedded with the team. We know somebody by face and by name, who knows everybody else on the team.” 

The authorities would then work to determine if the event is by a terrorist or someone proclaims to be mad at the world.

“A terrorist event is something that’s done because they want to send a political message. If the person is mentally unstable, that’s not a terrorist event,” the chief said.

Public Safety Director Terry Sult explained how investigators sometimes learn how the event unfolded after it’s over.“For example in Aurora [the Colorado movie theater shooting], they had an individual in custody but they thought they had multiple individuals that they were looking for because they had people wounded in different theaters,” Sult said.

He continued, "What they didn’t realize is that some of the bullets had gone through the walls and struck people so they still had a hot scene. Medical responders and EMTs have to wait until it’s fairly safe before they go in.”

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