Las Vegas Mass Shooting

Go to the Case Analysis Paper (CAP) section in the Syllabus for instructions on the preparation of the case analysis paper. You are to prepare a case analysis on the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, NV.

Case Analysis Paper: Las Vegas Mass Shooting

For this case study, each student will complete and submit a minimum 12 page, typewritten, original analysis of the mass shooting in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017 shooting using the APA format. At least 15 diverse references (See Special Instructions at the bottom of the page). The case analysis paper must consist of a title page, table of contents, introduction, body of the paper addressing questions below, conclusion, and reference page. Paper must be at least 12 pages of double-spaced manuscript (with 1” margins all around), excluding title page, table of contents page, reference page, and any appendices. For consistency, the font size must be either size 12 Times New Roman or size 11 Courier New. Appendices are optional. See course syllabus for additional details. According to APA format, any references listed in the reference section must be cited in the paper. No exceptions. In preparation of the case analysis, your paper needs an introduction to introduce the topic and purpose of the analysis. Next, the main body of your paper will address the 12 tasks and questions listed below. Finally, your paper will have a separate conclusion to highlight the major points in your analysis. Headings using APA format are required. Review APA guidelines on use of headings.

The Case Study: On the night of October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of concert goers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. A total of 58 people were killed and 413 wounded 413. With the ensuing panic when the shooting began, the total number of concert goers injured was 869. The shooter was a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada, who fired more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Paddock started shooting shortly after 10 p.m. PDT and ended about an hour later. Once police were able to enter Paddock’s room, they found him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His motive for the shooting remains officially undetermined. In the weeks following the shooting, investigators felt Paddock was suffering from mental illness that had gone undiagnosed. Many questions remain about the motive of the shooter, but one thing is clearly apparent…the shooter, Stephen Paddock, was a complicated man with a number of possible mental health issues. A central focus of your analysis will be how an understanding of behavioral theory could have aided in the early identification of Stephen Paddock as a threat that could have led to a proactive response to intervene before he would kill 58 people. Here are the tasks and/or questions to be addressed. They are organized by eleven topic headings :

Paddock’s Personal History

Provide a personal history of Stephen Paddock to include an extensive review of any behavioral problems he was experiencing prior to the shooting. Highlight behaviors that might pose a problem in the future.
Behavioral Problems

Based on criminal behavioral theory studied in this course and found in your research, how do you explain the behavioral problems Paddock exhibited? Was Paddock suffering from mental illness? Why or why not? Were there early warning signs of future violence? If so what were they? What behavioral theory or concept do you believe best explains Paddock’s actions on October 1, 2017? Explain.
Anticipating the Mass Shooting

Could Paddock’s loved ones, friends, doctors, or law enforcement officials anticipated Paddock’s actions on October 1, 2017? Explain why or why not?
Why did Paddock choose Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip as his target? What do you believe his motive was for the shooting?
Early Signs of a Problem

Did any of Paddock’s actions or behaviors demonstrated by Paddock prior to the shooting signal that he was descending into an unstable mental state? If so, what were the signs and was any action taken? Was intervention even possible? Why or why not?
What is the main reason authorities were not alerted to Paddock posing a threat to others?
Crowd Reaction

How would you characterize the reaction of concert goers once the shooting started? Was the way in which they reacted to the shootings contribute to further deaths and injuries? Why or why not? Did any concert goers emerge as leaders and heroes during the shooting? Is, how did their actions mitigate the effects of the shooting if any?
Response of Security and First Responders

What is your evaluation on the response of first responders (Police, EMS, and Fire Department), hotel security, and concert security to the shooting? What was done right? What was done wrong? What should have been done differently?
Investigation

In investigating the shooting, what problems/challenges did investigators face that impeded their ability to move forward with a timely investigation? Could these problems/issues have been prevented? If so, how? If not, why not?
Responsibility

Who bears responsibility for what happened on October 1, 2017? Why?
Prevention

Could the mass shooting on October 1, 2017 have been prevented? If so, how and by whom? Be specific.
Lessons Learned

What are the lessons learned from this tragedy as it relates to hotel and concert security and first responders? What are the implications moving forward?
Recommendations

What recommendations would you make to prevent such tragedies in the future? Be specific and detailed.
Final Comment: Your paper will have an Introduction, Main body (11 topic areas to be analyzed) and a Conclusion. The introduction will introduce the topic/issue while the conclusion will highlight the major findings of your analysis. The issues to be analyzed (11 topics) will be the main body of the paper between your introduction and conclusion. The paper will utilize headings following APA guidelines. I recommend using the the topic headings listed above for the main body of the paper.

Special Instructions: In preparing this analysis paper, use your basic research skills to confirm your beliefs, opinions, and convictions. This paper overall is not be an opinionated paper, but rather a paper that demonstrates your skill and ability to use sound and basic research skills in conducting a review of the literature to research the case and offer meaningful, substantive, relevant, and well-reasoned responses to the tasks and questions listed above. I would note that you do have the license to identify lessons learned from analyzing the Las Vegas shooting and to make recommendations. Your references must be diverse to include news publications, government documents/reports, after action review reports, peer-reviewed journals, relevant professional websites such as www.securitymagazine.com (Links to an external site.), www.shrm.org (Links to an external site.), and www.fbi.gov (Links to an external site.), and other professional publications such as Police Chief Magazine, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Security Management Magazine, and Human Resources Magazine. A failure to have diverse resources, especially peer reviewed journals, and/or over reliance on information from news websites/publications will result in a significant reduction in your paper grade. If you have any questions, contact this instructor.