One of the domestic acts of terrorism that ever happened in the history of America dates back to 2017 when there was a mass shooting in Colorado Springs by Robert Lewis Dear. The mass shooting occurred in the planned parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, which resulted in the shooting and killing of three individuals, leaving others injured. After a bizarre standoff, it is believed that the police gained entrance and wounded five other police officers and four civilians. This brought along a crash of the armored vehicles, moving the attacker to surrender (Smith et al., 2019). As per this review, the attacker, Robert Lewis, was arrested and charged in court with murder. He later called himself a warrior of babies meaning that the attack was related to an antiabortion attack. The judge later took the perpetrator to a mental checkup, which turned out that Dear was delusional.
The United States responded effectively by sending law enforcers to the scene to contain the terrorist attack. The law enforcers’ approach to the building led to a standstill fire shoot-out. After the perpetrator was captured, it was later discovered that he was using a long gun, identifying the equipment as a semi-automatic rifle (Smith et al., 2019). After the incident, the government responded by putting the place on a permanent lockdown. The police had already swarmed down the area, which was an effective measure for countering terrorism. This led to the arrest of the perpetrator, who was later taken to court and accused of first-degree murder.
Based on the response taken by the United States, there was effective containment. This is because the perpetrator was brought to book. Besides, immediate rescue efforts were observed as the police reached the scene before the perpetrator caused more harm to other individuals in the clinic. Injured victims were rushed to the nearest hospital for speed-up treatment. More so, the use of the court in leveraging judgments can be taken as an excellent step by the government as the accused was innocent until proven guilty (Spennemann, 2022). This is because, though Dear caused harm to other individuals, the judge thoroughly analyzed him and found that the perpetrator was suffering from delusional thoughts linked to antiabortion. This depicts that some terroristic attacks might come along due to a delusional feeling brought about by drug abuse.
There are several things that the United States can learn based on this incident. First, the federal government learned about the need for good surveillance in all the states. Also, the United States learned different ways by which the perpetrators of violence come to exist, which might include the influence of drug abuse. This also oversaw the need to use diplomacy, such as solving cases in court. This ensured a rallying of the allies and the isolation of the accused through conviction (Perlinger, 2020). More so, the United States, through this terror attack, learned the need to implement the civil defense and emergency preparedness policy, including legislation that will reduce the act of terrorism. Besides, this incident showed the need for the United States to ensure that all the security has a continuity plan that can be adaptable based on the human components. For instance, the perpetrator defended himself as an advocate for antiabortion, which was taking place in the clinic. This calls for laws and measures that will make each person aware of how to have a safe abortion and the steps to be taken (Perlinger, 2020). As per this incident, it is ideal to conclude that the United States has to prepare staff, have good communication, and implement regular updates in line with terrorism reporting.
References
Perliger, A. (2020). American zealots: Inside right-wing domestic terrorism. Columbia University Press. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-IrCDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT5&dq=columbia+southern+university+domestic+terrorism&ots=nGTiH6La33&sig=WDN0aM6OnAZ_qYgDYtYO5oIBTc8
Smith, E. R., Sarani, B., Shapiro, G., Gondek, S., Rivas, L., Ju, T., … & Mitchell, R. (2019). Incidence and cause of potentially preventable death after the civilian public mass shooting in the US. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 229(3), 244–251. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1072751519302911
Spennemann, D. H. (2022). Curating the Contemporary: A Case for National and Local COVID‐19 Collections. Curator: The Museum Journal, 65(1), 27-42. Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/cura.12451
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