Pittsburgh Responds To San Bernardino Tragedy
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When it became clear that a county facility in San Bernardino, California, was under attack, Allegheny County officials took notice, and say each tragedy, unfortunately, teaches emergency responders something new to watch out for.
"Things change," says Allegheny County Manager William McKain. "Situations change. Public safety learns from that. They collaborate and they share that information, so it's an ongoing process to make sure that we have best practices with training that evolves."
And every tragedy brings more input that helps that training evolve.
At the first word of the San Bernardino shooting, emergency responders here followed those events closely.
"We start looking even closer to the active calls that we have going on in each of our respective counties," says Allegheny County Emergency Services Chief Alvin Henderson, "to see if there's any areas of concern that we would have to alert public safety officials, elected officials and, most importantly, to prepare for that type of event if something were happening on a more globalized base throughout the United States."
Latest From San Bernardino:
And active shooter drills like this one happen all across the country.
They know there are some scenarios involving so-called "soft targets" and a gunman's agenda that baffles the mind that are hard to predict.
But they train hoping that training can save lives.
"We put all of our officers through an active shooter training," said Allegheny County Police Superintendent Charles Moffatt, "then this year we just finished up with the patrol rifle training, and the officers are now, there's 96 of them I believe, that are authorized to carry the rifle on duty. "
"The SWAT team practices two full days a month every month. The bomb squad practices for days a month without hesitation. They practice together, they practice with other agencies," he said.
Moffatt says although it can take a while to determine motive and possible accomplices, those on the ground can't look too far ahead.
"As we've seen across the country ... we respond to the scene and we worry about the taking care of business right then," he said. "And we worry about why and when later. We can't be concerned with who's doing it right now. Let's neutralize the person that's doing the shooting and then we worry about why did he or she do this."
Allegheny County Police Inspector Christopher Kearns says often the public sees an increased police presence after events like this for a couple of reasons.
"It helps them to pay attention and also gives them peace of mind that the officers are there and yet they're prepared for a response," Kearns said.
Even when they happen thousands of miles away, shootings like the one in San Bernardino still hit close to home. Thursday, KDKA-TV's Lynne Hayes-Freeland talked to Pittsburghers about the tragedy.
We've all heard the saying "if you see something, say something," but would you? And how safe do you feel here in Pittsburgh? These are all questions that we need to take a closer look at in light of what happened Wednesday in California.
The images of San Bernardino are hard to forget. A holiday party turned to tragedy when gunfire broke out, killing 14 and injuring 21 others.
"It makes me feel unsafe a little bit," said Arthur Germany of West End. "It can happen anywhere. It happened in the United States. California is a state just like Pennsylvania, so it makes me feel uneasy when I wake up."
"I think it makes me sad more than anything," said Lindsay Schramm of the South Side. "I don't really like to let the actions of extremists affect the way I live my day-to-day life."
Security everywhere is getting tighter, and just at the onset of the holiday travel season. It is at a time when you are asked to report anything usual. But would you?
"I'm not sure who I would tell," one woman said. "Maybe the police?"
"You could see something, but if you think that everyone that has a darker skin or is different is up to something, that's a problem," said Chris Mason of Aspinwall.
"I do feel obligated to say something," Germany said. "I feel like any person should feel obligated to report that."
"I come from a lot of police force in my family, so yes," said George McComb of Glenshaw.
The motive of Wednesday's shooting is yet to be determined, and very few people in Pittsburgh said what happened in San Bernardino would make them change their plans for the future. In fact, for some, mass acts of violence have become a part of the fabric of life.
"My parents worked in the Trade Centers," Schramm said. "I've grown up with this. So I would go so far as to say, this is the way of life that I've always had since as far back as I can remember."
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