A new EMS response: supporting paradigm change in EMS operational medical response to active shooter events.

The tragedies in Aurora, Colo., Newtown, Conn., and most recently at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., add to the growing epidemic of mass killings in our society. Such events have brought to light the real risk—and absolute horror—of what law enforcement and Fire/EMS responders must be prepared to face. These events have spawned initiatives and opened conversations at high levels of government that used to be non-starters, and the prospect of change and progress in the legislation to control illegal access to lethal weapons and improve mental health resources has the most realistic chance of being enacted in several years.