The summer weekend festival season is in full-swing across Michigan. After two mass shooting incidents involving festivals in New York and California that left three people dead and 24 injured, one local security consultant has some safety advice.
“Unfortunately, the goal of an attack like the one you saw in California is to get as many victims as possible.”
A public gathering, a festival held outdoors, making it difficult to secure.
Jason Russell is founder and president of Grand Rapids-based Secure Education Consultants. The former U.S. Secret Service agent advises not to rely on event security, you need to have your own plan in place. It begins with having situational awareness and getting out of harm’s way.
“At the Secret Service the goal was to look for the anomaly and behavior. Look for the person, or the people, that are not acting like everybody else. So, when you’re paying attention to the people around you, you may see somebody who’s acting strangely and that may spark some concern and maybe you can go to law enforcement or do something about it.”
What are some of the tip offs?
“Obviously, somebody who’s preparing to launch an attack is going to show some signs. They’re either going to be, you know, carrying a weapon or carrying something that could carry a weapon. They’re not going to be acting like the rest of the crowd. They may be dressed inappropriately. They may be pacing. They may be, you know, showing some nonverbal warning signs that they’re preparing to do something. Their facial expression is probably not going to be like the rest of the crowd. They’re just going to be acting differently.”
Russell recommends if you see something, say something to law enforcement or event security. Also, make sure you and your family establish a meeting location in the event of an emergency and remember where you parked the car.
Patrick Center, WGVU News.