ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Thursday released its 35-page after-action report for the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, 29, shot and killed 49 people and wounded dozens more at the gay nightclub in the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter in U.S. history.
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Mateen, who pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State during call he made to 911, was shot and killed by Orlando police after a three-hour standoff. His widow, Noor Salman, was arrested in January on charges of aiding and abetting Mateen.
The FDLE report, created to analyze the agency's response, identify strengths and potential areas for improvement, and support development of corrective actions, said the agency responded quickly and efficiently, but added that some changes are needed.
"Overall, the combined efforts of FDLE special agents, intelligence analysts, and other non-sworn members achieved the best possible outcome in multiple aspects of this tragedy," the report said. "FDLE’s organizational culture and its members’ ability to adapt and be flexible in high-pressure situations were crucial to the success of the response to the terrorist incident."
The agency said its major strengths were:
- FDLE exhibited exceptional communication and coordination among command staff members in managing the Pulse response including: member tasking, identifying additional resource needs, and directing investigative operations, while simultaneously maintaining the Orlando Regional Operations Center (OROC) daily operations.
- FDLE intelligence analysts provided significant support in all aspects of the operation.
- The established partnership between FDLE and the local and federal law enforcement agencies in the Orlando region was the foundation to successful response efforts.
The report pinpointed the following as areas for improvement:
- FDLE required the assistance of a management support team to handle logistical, planning, and financial/administrative needs of the event. Recommend creating and maintaining redundant FDLE Management Support Teams (FMST) in each region and headquarters.
- DLE accepted the role of identifying victims and notifying their next of kin. FDLE did not have protocols in place for this process as they do not typically assume this responsibility. Recommend developing an operational procedure for victim identification and next of kin notification.
- There was a lack of immediate notification to Florida Fusion Center (FFC) partners. FFC will clarify dissemination practices during an incident and explore the use of secured communications and mass notification portals.
The FDLE summarized its report by saying the key to successfully responding to a crisis situation is "extensive planning, quick and effective decision-making, and the ability to adapt to each unique situation as it unfolds."
"Overall, FDLE performed typical and atypical assignments above expectation. While there were areas for improvement, actions to correct these issues are underway. The lessons learned from this incident are to be built upon for future planned and unplanned events," the report stated.