Communications were snarled and police, fire and medical responders were overwhelmed by 911 calls, false reports and the number of victims during the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, according to a report released Monday by U.S. and local authorities. However, the report clearly places the blame with LVMPD and the Sheriff, pointing out that among other things, Metro wasn’t even aware of the country music festival that had 22,000 people was going on — so when the shooting happened, they had no idea it was a mass causality event for almost an hour.
The Metropolitan Police Department and Clark County Fire Department worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to share their best practices and what they learned on that night so they can be better prepared for a similar tragedy.
“Congested radio traffic made coordination difficult for response agencies,” the report said. “The calls caused a heightened sense of alert, and in some cases the fear of a multi-pronged, coordinated attack near the initial shooting.”
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in January that a LVMPD dispatcher told first responders shortly after the shooting that UMC, home to the state’s only Level 1 trauma facility, was “completely out of beds” and that the victims couldn’t go there.
The report said that for special events of the festival’s size, a “unified command post should be established among all agencies.”
One more reason I don’t feel safe in Vegas anymore. The police barely do their jobs.