Overview

You will synthesize the information in the scenario and put the appropriate response procedures into action. You will also provide explanations for the reasoning behind your decisions as they pertain to the management of the situation, the employees and assets involved, and the personnel assisting and responding. You will be playing the role of the building security manager and will be providing updates on the emergency response to this incident by composing an emergency response memo.

Scenario

Lifeline Technologies is a local Bay Area software company with approximately 75 employees. The Lifeline Technologies office is in a three-story commercial building that shares space with four other businesses. Lifeline Technologies is located on and occupies the entire third floor and can be accessed via elevator, main staircase, and emergency staircase leading to a back hall just around the corner from the main business entrance. Inside the main office of the company is an open glass door with a reception area. The office area behind reception is an open office space environment, where employees mingle and interact in true IT fashion.

Over the course of six months, an employee, John Raymond, had been exhibiting strange behaviors that included bursts of anger toward management and other employees. He would often be heard yelling in the bathroom after interactions with his direct managers. He became more and more violent toward others and pushed a fellow female coworker during an altercation. After several attempts by management to change his behavior, Raymond was subsequently terminated and escorted out of the building by the local police.

In the days following, Raymond made threats via email, Twitter, Facebook, and phone to several coworkers and to the founders of the company. Raymond filed a lawsuit against the company, and he continued to make threats and taunted staff and ownership in various media outlets. Management and the company owners considered filing charges and were going to secure a restraining order but decided against it fearing it would cause more problems. Since Raymond's termination and subsequent threats, the organization did make some changes in the short term. They hired a security guard for the lobby area to patrol and to escort employees. Police were asked to provide additional patrols, and cameras were placed at the entrance to the business.

Since the lawsuit was filed, Raymond's threats seemed to subside but did reappear on occasion in social media and in email. Six months had passed since Raymond was terminated and the threats were subsiding, so the organization decided to no longer use security. Management made no other protocol or policy changes (secured door access, more cameras, etc.) and did not maintain the security cameras purchased after the incident. Two years later, Lifeline Technologies had been sold to another organization and the owners had retired.

Three years after Raymond's initial termination and threatening behavior, his lawsuit was dismissed. Raymond silently walked out of the courtroom and an hour later accessed the emergency stairwell leading to Lifeline Technologies' third-floor office. He burst through the front door with a shotgun and a handgun, shooting and killing 10 people and injuring over 25 others. During the incident employees did their best to hide behind desks and filing cabinets, but it made little difference in the open environment. Some tried to escape through the emergency stairwell, but Raymond had blocked the door and employees were killed as they tried to get out. Police arrived in less than 90 seconds and the shooting spree ended when Raymond gave up as he was walking out of the building.

For this, you will be assessing and analyzing appropriate emergency actions that would occur after the shooting took place.

Directions

Compose an emergency response memo that highlights the actions taken as the emergency unfolded by addressing the following rubric criteria:

1. Assess the incident as it unfolded to determine the following:
   1. The emergency level of the incident
   2. The appropriate response procedures that should occur (i.e., evacuating personnel from premises, setting a wide perimeter to allow access for emergency response vehicles, etc.)
   3. The appropriate tools and technologies that should be utilized
2. Explain appropriate protocols that should be taken for managing and controlling communications, including:
   1. Internal communication protocols to communicate with other personnel and partners involved in the emergency management process
   2. External communication protocols for dealing with the media (you want to control the story and adhere to appropriate standards, policies, laws, and ethical considerations)
3. Explain how specific emergency response areas should be established, including a description, a location, and a rationale for the location for each area:
   1. Command post
   2. Staging area
   3. Triage area
   4. Public perimeter
4. Explain the importance of the chain of command in this emergency situation.
   1. Describe the chain of command in this emergency situation.
   2. Explain why it is important to follow the chain of command.
   3. Describe what can occur if the chain of command is not followed.
5. Describe the relationship between the five functional areas of the incident command in this emergency situation:
   1. Command
   2. Operations
   3. Planning
   4. Logistics
   5. Administration/finance
6. Please use in-text citations and References.