Experts: Emergency Crews Had ‘admirable Response To Allen Premium Outlets Shooting

© Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News/TNS Law enforcement officials, including Plano police, guard the scene following a mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets malls in Allen, Texas on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Several victims reported about shooting and 9 people. they were taken to the hospital.

Emergency services began arriving less than a minute after the shooting at Allen Premium malls was reported on May 6.

In just 15 minutes, the first victims of the mass shooting were treated, which was praised by local authorities and two emergency medical experts who independently reviewed Allen's report on the fire. Monday with detailed response.

According to the fire department's report, paramedics reached the first patient about 12 minutes after the first shots were fired, and the first four ambulances arrived at the mall five minutes or less than planned. Dr. Howie Mell, an emergency physician practicing in the Midwest, testified that first responders arrive at Allen's stores "within five, maybe three minutes."

“Their reaction was wonderful,” said Mell, who has also been involved in the investigation of several mass shootings. "In terms of overall response time, they are way below, if not above, the standard I was expecting."

For the first time, the shooting became known on May 6 at about 15:36. An Allen police officer approached the shooter, 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, and shot him three to four minutes after the first shots were fired.

Within minutes of the shooting, paramedics received various reports of casualties at various mall stores, according to the telegram.

Eight people were killed and seven were injured in the second-largest mass shooting in the US this year.

According to the fire service, six ambulances took the victims from the scene to the hospital.

The report said that at 4:08 p.m., rescuers reported that all patients they could transport had been removed from the scene. Visitors indicate that another brigade reported another loss of firearms no later than 4:23 p.m.

Given the scenario, Mell said it was notable that the first ambulance arrived at the hospital with the first victim 19 minutes after it was originally sent.

Dr. Alan Tiro, who is also director of trauma at the University of El Paso Medical Center, helped treat patients after the 2019 El Paso Walmart mass shooting. He said communication during active shooting was initially very confusing and inconsistent.

In response to the shooting in El Paso, Tyro said he had heard conflicting reports about the number of patients arriving at the hospital and the number of possible gunmen. More than a dozen patients have been admitted to the hospital, he said.

"It's always been that way," said Tyro, director of surgery at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso. "It's so chaotic."

He said that, in general, paramedics arriving at the scene with penetrating wounds, including gunshot and stab wounds, should promptly transport patients to the hospital.

“You have to get them to the hospital where you can give them a blood transfusion and stop the bleeding,” Tiroch said. "For the most part, it's very fast scenes."

While the situation was developing in Alena, emergency services were on duty from the west side of the shopping center, the employees delivered at least one victim to the ambulance. Shortly thereafter, paramedics "donned ballistic gear and formed rescue teams with local police" who arrived at the scene, the fire department said in a statement.

“Practically all assistance was provided, and radio communications indicated that there were concerns about more than one shooter,” the report says.

The fast-paced, multiple-victim scene leaves a lot of things unclear, including the route the shooter took and who was the first victim, Mell said.

"It's important for the ambulance to go where they know the victims are traveling with police because there's a chance they'll run into the killer," Mell said. "It is important both to stop the incident, that is, to apprehend, detain or arrest the shooter, and to the safety of crews and patients that these task forces are formed."

Mel said setting up a rescue team, in which medical personnel are escorted by law enforcement officers to the scene, is best practice in such incidents. That standard practice changed over two decades ago, when the 1999 Columbine High School mass shooting occurred, Mell said. At the time, the protocol was as follows: law enforcement arrived, stopped the incident, and checked the scene before paramedics finally arrived.

According to him, the disadvantage of this approach is that people can wait a long time. Tiroch added that the formation of task forces was the right decision, and he said that the emergency teams seemed to have done a good job.

Regional Advisory Councils help emergency response teams across the state develop and implement injury responses, including in active shooter situations. Texas has 22 RACs and Collin County is on the North Central Texas Regional Injury Advisory Council. These councils are made up of paramedics, hospitals, and citizens involved in trauma response and other aspects of emergency medical systems.

The North Central Texas RAC member referred questions to the executive director of the board, who was unavailable for comment.

The report said that in addition to ambulances, at least one patient was taken to the hospital in a police car. Mell said that while patient carriers are not ideal, there may be scenarios where they are a better option. During the 2012 mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, cops took many victims to hospitals in police cars instead of waiting for ambulances or patients to be picked up by ambulances, according to the report.

"If there's any delay, whether it's a change in position or whatever, and the bleeding has stopped and you've taken all the medical steps, then go ahead," Mel said. "Go, this will serve the patient best."

Civilians and police also provided assistance until paramedics arrived. On the day of the shooting, civilians told the Dallas Morning News that they applied tourniquets to bleeding limbs and bandaged bleeding wounds.

Such intervention is critical, Mel said, adding that bleeding control plays a key role in these cases. The Stop the Bleeding National Program, founded by the American College of Surgeons, offers classes to teach people how to stop bleeding in seriously injured people by showing them how to dress a wound, apply direct pressure, and use a tourniquet, among other methods.

In a written statement Monday, Dr. Kevin Hoffman, the fire department's medical director, said "all treatable victims have been saved."

"The rapid response of Allen police, paramedics and civilians saved lives following a mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets malls on May 6," the statement said.

© 2023 Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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