Security Officials Look to Learn from Vegas Tragedy

In the wake of the tragic events that occurred in Las Vegas last month, security officials are looking for innovative ways to improve security at large-scale public events. Previously, attention was focused on the venue itself. Since discovering that the active shooter was located outside the event facility in Las Vegas, officials learned there are far more factors to be considered in trying to keep people safe. Officials are hoping to take a more all-encompassing approach to ensure that buildings around these venues, such as the hotel used by the Vegas shooter, are monitored.

Another major issue highlighted by the tragedy was the lack of proper evacuation plan when things began to go wrong. Instead of receiving clear and concise instructions on an evacuation plan, concert-goers were sent into a panic. More than 23,000 people were left in the dark at the event as they hastily tried to escape the venue. The shooter killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others.

While there are no guarantees to completely prevent such events from unfolding, every possible security precaution is effective. "It's impossible to secure them to the point when you can prevent any kind of violent attack, and still be accessible to the public," said John Cohen, a former counterterrorism coordinator at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and now a professor at Rutgers School of Criminal Justice. He believes that additional effective police coverage and public cooperation can help keep the public safe in the event a similar tragedy occurs again.

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