Our hearts go out to everyone touched by last night’s massacre at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas strip. At least 58 people were reported killed and over 500 wounded in the latest and worst mass shooting in U.S. history. The terrorist was identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada. These incidents are happening all too frequently—on average, a shooting occurs every day in the United States. The Las Vegas shooting marks the 273rd mass shooting in 275 days of 2017 in the U.S. A total of 11,652 people have died in all gun violence incidents this year, and 23,512 have been injured.
In this instance, as our thoughts turn to our friends and colleagues at the Southern Nevada Health District, we want to remind and urge all of our colleagues that we are a resilient community that strongly supports each another, especially in times of crisis. As always, NACCHO remains committed to providing resources, training, and guidance to their local health department members to help in their response to this ongoing public health challenge. These include Suspicious Activity Training, Active Shooter and Explosive Device, and Risk Communications. You will find resources on NACCHO’s Preparedness blog here, and updated resources from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security can be found here.