Kane state's attorney praises law enforcement for Aurora shooting response
Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon offered condolences to the five people killed in Friday's Henry Pratt workplace shooting, but he also praised various and numerous law enforcement agencies that responded for providing effective mutual aid and sharing information.
Those two key areas have been emphasized to McMahon's office staff during training sessions with investigators in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 and the 2012 Sikh temple shooting near Milwaukee.
"If there's one thing we've all learned about the mass shootings across the country, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when," McMahon said. "Unfortunately, that occurred Friday in our community."
Last year, McMahon's staff and other law enforcement attended a training session headed by Jeffrey Sallet, division chief of the Chicago FBI who ran in and helped investigate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
And the year before that, there was a training session with police officers from Oak Creek, Wisconsin, the site of a shooting at a Sikh temple where six people were killed and four wounded by a gunman who later took his own life.
McMahon said the training was designed for law enforcement to share information to be as prepared as possible in responding to a mass shooting, the aftermath and investigation and lessons learned.
Having a plan of coordinated information sharing between local, state and federal agencies on the scene is essential to deploying resources, he said.
Friday, authorities responded to various areas of the warehouse and to the gunman's apartment unit.
"Decisions are made on information. The importance of thorough communication by law enforcement is critical," McMahon said.
He also praised the leadership of Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman, who issued her own statement Tuesday morning via social media.
"It's important to salute the men and women of law enforcement, specifically the Aurora Police Department, who inserted themselves into an incredibly dangerous and deadly situation to try to protect other members of the community." McMahon said. "I know it's what we expect of (the police), but the idea of somebody running toward an individual who is actively shooting and killing other human beings is something few of us can really appreciate the significance and thought process that goes into that."