• Aaron B Klassen, Morgan Marshall, Mengtao Dai, N Clay Mann, and Matthew D Sztajnkrycer.
• Prehosp Emerg Care. 2019 Mar 1; 23 (2): 159-166.

BackgroundThe purpose of the current study was to describe the injury patterns, EMS response and interventions to mass shooting (MS) and active shooter (AS) incidents.MethodsRetrospective analysis of 2014-2015 National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) data sets. Date, time, and location for MS incidents were obtained from the Gun Violence Archive and then correlated with NEMSIS data set records. AS incidents were identified through Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data. A de-identified database was generated for final analysis.ResultsA total of 608 MS incidents were identified, of which 19 were also classified as AS incidents. NEMSIS patient care data was available for 652 EMS activations representing 226 unique MS incidents. Thirty-four EMS responses to 5 unique AS incidents were similarly identified: 76% of victims were male and 80% of victims were African American. Dispatch complaint did not suggest shooting (potentially dangerous scene environment) in 15.9% of records. The most commonly reported incident locations for MS were Street/Highway (38.2%) and Home/Residence (32.4%). Location of wounds included extremities (49%), chest (12%), and head/neck (13%). Tourniquet use was documented in 6 victims. 35.9% of victims were transported to the closest facility.ConclusionsMS and AS incidents are prevalent in the United States. Despite the fact that extremity wounds were common, documented EMS tourniquet use was uncommon. While MS events are high risk for responders, dispatch information was lacking in almost 15% of records. Responding EMS agencies were diverse, emphasizing the need to ensure all EMS providers are prepared to respond to MS incidents.

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