Rapid Response: Non-law enforcement first responders as a target for violence
Firefighters being shot and killed in the line of duty is counterintuitive and can’t be treated as normal
Every emergency response by firefighters and other public safety personnel is always a venture into the unknown. That unknown is becoming increasingly violent. Read more expert analysis and takeaways from this tragic incident here and here.
With agonizing grief, we watched as Long Beach Fire Department Chief Mike DuRee faced the numbing responsibility of announcing yet another senseless firefighter shooting fatality; the line-of-duty death of 17-year LBFD Captain David Rosa.
Adding to the list of firefighters, EMTs and paramedics shot and killed in the line of duty is something we should never hear of. Non-law enforcement first responders being shot and killed in the line of duty is counterintuitive thinking. It can truly be said, “this isn’t what we signed up for.”
Regardless of whether we signed up for it or not, we’re dealing with it, and will likely deal with it again. Look at the following fatal shooting line-of-duty deaths: