Connecticut General Statutes 28-5a – Response plan for a mass shooting event
(a) Any comprehensive plan and program developed by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection pursuant to subsection (b) of section 28-5 shall include a response plan for a mass shooting event. A mass shooting event is deemed to occur when, within a period of twenty-four hours, four or more individuals are shot within a three-mile radius.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 28-5a
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 28-1
- Department: means the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 28-1
- Emergency: means any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the Governor or the President, state or federal assistance is needed to supplement state or local efforts and capabilities to save lives and protect property, public health and safety or to avert or lessen the threat of a disaster or catastrophe in any part of this state. See Connecticut General Statutes 28-1
- Governor: means the Governor or anyone legally administering the office of Governor. See Connecticut General Statutes 28-1
- legislative body: means : (1) As applied to unconsolidated towns, the town meeting. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
(b) In any response plan for a mass shooting event, the commissioner shall include provisions directing the coordination of a meeting with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the local police department, community leaders, including religious leaders and representatives of the Project Longevity Initiative, established under section 4-68bb, for the purpose of determining (1) why the shooting event occurred, (2) what circumstances led to the shooting event, (3) whether there were warning signs that such shooting event would occur, (4) preventative measures the community can enact to prevent further shooting events, and (5) if there are resources available to assist the community in its response to the shooting event. At the conclusion of such meeting, the meeting participants shall report their findings to the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection. The commissioner shall review and report the findings and any other information the commissioner deems pertinent, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the Governor, majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety and security. Such report shall include recommendations, if any, for legislative action to reduce mass shooting events.
(c) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall coordinate with the Commissioner of Public Health for the deployment of grief counselors and mental health professionals to provide mental health services to the family members or other individuals with a close association with any victim of a mass shooting. Such deployments shall be made to local community outreach groups in and around the impacted geographical location and to any school or institution of higher education where any victim or perpetrator of a mass shooting event was enrolled.
(d) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall coordinate an investigation into each mass shooting event with the office of the Chief State’s Attorney. Each such investigation shall consider: (1) How the perpetrator acquired any firearm used in the event, (2) whether the firearm that was used was legally acquired, (3) if the magazine used in the shooting was a large capacity magazine, as defined in section 53-202w, and (4) the backgrounds of the perpetrator and the victims. The commissioner and Chief State’s Attorney shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, a summary of each such investigation, all findings of such investigation, including any determination of cause of the mass shooting event and any recommendations to prevent future mass shooting events to the Governor, majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety and security and to the chief elected officer and legislative body, each as described in section 7-193, of the municipality where the mass shooting event occurred.