Active Shooter Mitigation for Open-Air Venues

This dissertation examines the impact of active shooters upon patrons attending large outdoor events. There has been a spike in shooters targeting densely populated spaces in recent years, to include open-air venues. The 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival was selected for modeling replication using AnyLogic software to test various experiments designed to reduce casualties in the event of an active shooter situation. Through achievement of validation to produce identical outcomes of the real-world Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting, the researcher established a reliable foundational model for experimental purposes. This active shooter research project identifies the need for rapid response efforts to neutralize the shooter(s) as quickly as possible to minimize casualties. Key findings include the importance of armed officers patrolling event grounds to reduce response time, the need for adequate exits during emergency evacuations, incorporation of modern technology to identify the shooter’s location, and applicability of a 1:548 police to patron ratio.