CIVILIAN AWARENESS TIPS FOLLOWING “LONE WOLF” OR “SMALL SQUAD” TERRORIST ATTACKS OR POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS
PREPARATION FOR WHAT YOU MAY ENCOUNTER IF YOU ARE THE 1ST RESPONDER TO ARRIVE ON THE SCENE OF AN ATTACK
Contrary to what His Eminence, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has advocated, the likelihood of an Iran/Hamas/Hezbollah-inspired attack on US soil remains unlikely—especially because the FBI, Dept. of Homeland Security, Local Law Enforcement, and this Substack have provided to our fellow Americans on how to “Spot the Lone Wolf”.
FACTS:
Ayatollah Khamenei has not spent quality time in the United States.
Most Iranians in the United States have experienced a more positive lifestyle HERE than in Iran.
University-based protesters do not express support for Iran’s Theocracy, in general.
There are more American Lone Wolf Spotters than there are Iranian Theocracy Supporters in the US.
Most Iranians are in the United States because they or their parents/grandparents have (i) been forced to leave Iran, (ii) had all of their financial assets appropriated by the Iranian Government in the 1970s-1980s, OR (iii) been previously detained/interrogated/tortured/raped by Islamic Republic of Iran intelligence or police prior to escaping Iran.
WARNING
The information contained in this material may be disturbing to read. Do not continu reading if you feel physical or emotional distress.
The MAJORITY of untrained or unprepared Americans encountering the scene of a completed terrorist attack will (1) not approach victims, (2) be physically or emotionally overcome when encountering victims, and (3) quickly exit the post-attack scene due to emotional and physical distress when seeing the condition of the victims.
Only a FEW untrained or unprepared Americans will deliberately move into a post-attack site and FEWER will feel able to administer care to victims at the scene.
PURPOSE & RECOMMENDATIONS
The intent of these “awareness tips” and any links to audiovisual and forensic photography learnings is to provide you with two key understandings:
(i) proactive recognition of what you are likely to encounter (see and/or hear) in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack may increase your willingness to provide support and aide for victims; and
(ii) proactive understanding that you may not tolerate administering care at the post-attack scene. You may be better suited to provide logistical support away from the scene instead. PROVIDING SUPPORT AWAY FROM THE SCENE IS OF GREAT CIVIC VALUE AND IS HEROIC!
BACKGROUND
All of your neighbors who are members of United States Law Enforcement, Military, or Emergency Medical Response Teams have significant levels of training (and some have direct experience) for how to optimally care for victims at post-attack scenes—whether in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Africa, Europe or the United States. They instinctively know first steps in the immediate aftermath of an attack on civilians. Most civilians will not have prior training in responses to terrorism. Robust informational materials are beyond the scope of this Substack Post but can be found on US Department of Homeland Security website. This information may be invaluable for preparing you to witness the aftermath of a terrorist attack as one of the first citizens to arrive on the scene.
Since all US States also have Civilian Support Teams (US Army trained specialists for terrorist attacks), FBI field offices, and Dept. of Homeland Security resources, these personnel are well-versed in the stepwise process below:
1. Assess and secure the scene: determine whether active perpetrators are or are no longer a threat.
2. Secondary attacks on first responders may occur. Therefore, scan for explosive devices intended to injure persons delivering care to living victims IMMEDIATELY PRIOR to entering the post-attack scene.
3. Focus upon immediate life-saving measures at traumatic vascular and organ exposure wound sites. Be aware that each victim’s body will require forensic photographic and biochemical analyses.
4. Reduce contamination of attack scenes whenever possible. Avoid cleaning out debris from wounds, smearing pooled and non-pooled blood, moving or collecting isolated body parts. Any of these actions can unintentionally contaminate the scene. Rescuers feeling unable to control bodily functions due injuries they witness know to remove themselves from the scene.
5. Proactively, they have completed and continue to maintain CPR, BLS, and ALS training certification.
6. When exiting from the attack scene, report to crime scene leaders to determine what required next steps are applicable to you.
7. Accept or seek post-traumatic exposure counselling after completing your efforts. This applie to all rescuers witnessing scenes of extreme bodily harm—eg public executions, incinerated victims, beheaded or dismembered victims, sexually mutilated and/or assaulted victims that have expired.
Because most civilians have not previously witnessed graphic bodily injuries and deliberate disfigurement or mutilation attacks, this writing and the audiovisual materials links are intended to as-palatably-as-possible fill that gap. Be aware that fear and refusal to enter attack scenes are common and to be respected. Providing support away from the crime scene is invaluable and greatly appreciated by all.
FORENSIC EVIDENCE AT TERRORIST ATTACK SITES OR ASSASSINATION SITES
Terrorist attacks may originate at a distance or be delivered in close proximity (<4 ft away) to victims. Print and audiovisual resources provided here are limited to close-proximity attacks resulting in victim injury or death.
STEP 1: REAL-TIME TERRORIST AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS
US military and intelligence personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are familiar with jihadist practices of memorializing/audiovisual recording ideology-driven attacks and murders. Middle East conflict increases the risk of ideology-driven assaults in Western countries due to encouragement from Iranian leaders and jihadists. Beyond the Iraq- and Afghanistan-sourced jihadist filming of IED attacks, beheadings, and ritual knife slaughters, there are two audiovisual documentary materials (“We Will Dance Again” and the website “hamas-massacre.net”) which provide audiovisual, real-time recordings from victims’ smartphones, facial recognition security cameras, and perpetrators’ bodycam videos. Combined, these resources provide unique learning opportunities in preparation for entering post-attack scenes. Please exercise caution viewing these audiovisual materials because the sights and sounds may be extremely troubling to you and others in your immediate vicinity. You are not obligated to view these materials. They contain extremely graphic images of victims and there is significant risk of the reader experiencing emotional distress.
REMINDER: The intent of these audiovisual learnings is to (i) proactively prepare you for scenes you may encounter in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack in your vicinity; and (ii) proactively provide you understanding of whether you may not tolerate immersion in the scene. You may be better suited to provide logistical support away from the scene instead and that has great civic value.
STEP 2: SCATTER OF CLOSE PROXIMITY ATTACKS OR ASSASSINATIONS
One or more victims with close-proximity injuries inflicted by one or a small group of perpetrators may be found in one location or multiple locations, contemporaneously. Common modes of attack simultaneously found across locations may provide invaluable evidence of “ideology-based” attacks. Religion- and Political-extremist attacks may be suspected by symbolism or manifestos deliberately left at the scene as well as specific types of injury including (but not limited to) (i) execution by firearm, (ii) individual, paired, and mass incineration using accelerants, (iii) beheading, (iv) ritual-killing-by knife, (v) sexual assault followed by one of the previous 4 methods, and (vi) any of the previous 5 methods followed by desecration or dismemberment of the corpse.
In the United States, we have inculcated resources at the Federal, State, and Local Government levels based upon learnings from the contemporaneous 11 September 2001 attacks in New York City, Washington DC, and Shanksville PA, as wells as “lone wolf” mass casualty attacks in multiple cities across the United States.
September 11 Attacks
Casualties from the direct assaults upon New York City World Trade Center North & South Towers included predominantly incineration, crush, and dismemberment injuries. While some intact bodies were recovered, the force of the aircraft impacts and the building collapses resulted in recovery of body parts, bone fragments and other tissue fragments, predominantly. At the Pentagon Building, mass incineration casualties, inhalation, asphyxiation injuries, and moderate-to-severe burn injuries were encountered.
Lone Wolf Attacks
“Lone Wolf” attacks on US soil predominantly include close-proximity handgun, automatic weapons, long-knife, and flame-throwing attacks. Long gun (“marksman”) attacks carried out at a distance away from victims are infrequent and beyond the scope of this material.
October 7th Attacks
The 07 October 2023 attacks in Israel included numerous attacks committed within 4 ft of victims by individuals and groups of paramilitary forces. Digital security cameras at multiple settlements captured the precise time sequence from start to completion of the attacks. In tandem, universal time on victims’ smartphones and perpetrators’ bodycams provided time sequenced understanding of the more than 1200 victims assaulted and murdered. The 07 October 2023 assaults and murders occurred along a 120 mile long corridor in dozens of settlements and resulted in 6 predominant modes of murder: (i) execution by firearm (short and long guns), (ii) individual, paired, or group incineration, (iii) beheading, (iv) ritual-killing-by knife, (v) sexual assault followed by one of the previous 4 methods, and (vi) any of the previous 5 methods followed by desecration or dismemberment of the victim. All 6 types of murders occurred at multiple locations.
[RED DOT indicates 1 or more murder victims along Israel’s Gaza Envelope (07 OCT 2023).]
STEP 3: MURDER SCENE PRIORITIES: PROTECT FORENSIC EVIDENCE AND BE ALERT FOR POTENTIAL SECONDARY ATTACKS
MURDERED VICTIMS ADJACENT TO OR INSIDE MOTOR VEHICLES
Emergency Response Professionals are well-trained on procedures before entering a crime scene. Protection of murder site evidence, detection of remaining potential hazards for post-attack rescuers (eg aerosolized toxins still present, IEDs hidden within vehicles or victims’ remains) are inculcated into their mindset prior to scene entry. Motor vehicles provide an opportunity for secondary attacks (e.g. perpetrators hiding in vehicles, timed or pressure/movement-sensitive explosive devices placed within vehicles by perpetrators),
BLOOD: POOLS, SPLATTERS, & SYMBOLS
When encountering victims with adjacent large pools of blood, coagulated blood on the body may obscure differentiating head from neck and chest from torso. Potential causes of death may include multiple head/neck bullet wounds, ritualistic knife killings, beheadings, limb amputations, or intentional chest-torso separations. In situ examination and forensic photography of the deceased should precede any manual inspection or removal of the remains.
Avoid smearing blood pools and splatters when feasible. Ideology-related symbols and geometric patterns may be intentionally left by perpetrators. Forensic photography of the scene can be independently viewed by experts and produce relevant interpretations.
CLUSTERED VICTIMS
The instinct to cover victims for dignity is readily appreciated. It is important to recognize that clustered victims may be intended to attract multiple rescuers. Be aware that large open abdominal or chest wounds may conceal explosives intended to injure rescuers. In situ examination and forensic photography of the deceased should precede any manual inspection or removal of the remains.
SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS
For dignity, covering the victim(s) with non- or minimally absorbent materials is optimal. DNA analysis of body fluids is mission-critical since perpetrators’ DNA (and fingerprints) may be in LAW ENFORCEMENT and/or INTELLIGENCE SERVICES databases.
Because US citizens have survived such assaults AND many civilians have watched crime scene investigation documentaries, videos, or television programs, these can be invaluable pre-event trainings passively absorbed that will come into relevance at the attack scene.
RITUAL KNIFE KILLINGS
Forensic evidence may include dried-blood fingerprints in these instances, since holding the victim in place may be logistically and ritualistically necessary. Perpetrators’ hands may become drenched with blood; thus the victims clothing may contain fingerprint evidence. For dignity, covering the victim(s) with non- or minimally absorbent materials is optimal. Carrying and holding child murder victims away from the scene may be instinctive responses. Resisting such instincts may be extremely challenging.
INCINERATION (BURN) VICTIMS
It can be challenging to recognize human remains following incineration (flame) assaults. What on first inspection appears to be one victim may in fact be two or more victims. Odors or drippings consistent with chemical accelerants can link perpetrators registered to purchase accelerants to the crime scene. Any covering applied to the remains should have a label affixed to it for documentation purposes to avoid inadvertent removal, discarding, or relocation, which can impede the re-association of the body part to the victim. Forensic photography in situ should precede removal whenever feasible.
Please know that hospital-type CT scanning of incinerated human remains can reveal the number of actual victims within the remains. In references provided, an example CT scan clarifying that two victims (one adult, one child) were closely entangled is provided. This is critical information that may support forensic understanding of circumstances preceding the incineration. Biochemical analysis in other instances can reveal evidence that two or more victims were bound together prior to the incineration attack and provide objective evidence of intent in criminal proceedings.
When encountering clusters of incineration victims in a “get away” motorized vehicle, avoid moving the victims or entering the vehicle. Tagging each individual victim and dismembered body parts adjacent to incinerated victims may provide linkages between viable tissue DNA analytics and dental records for criminal prosecutions.
Human incineration “victim shadows” may be challenging to recognize as victims’ remains. Since dissolution or disintegration of human remains may require unique accelerants, biochemical analyses at such sites can be informative since accelerant supply chains may require purchaser identification at point-of-sale. Steps you initiate at the scene my preserve biochemical clues pointing to a pool of potential perpetrators to consider interrogating and/or prosecuting.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS & PREPARATORY TRAINING
Audiovisual Materials
1. We Will Dance Again (for purchase on Paramount+ / Apple TV+)
2. #NOVA (available on Amazon Prime Video)
3. hamas-massacre.net (on-line photos and videos posted on social media by perpetrators)
4. Screams Before Silence
5. Bearing Witness
Your prior viewing of these materials may be beneficial to Emergency Response Professionals and Criminal Investigators leading the scene investigation. We hope these print and audio-visual materials have been useful, engaging, and informative. Please know that fear and reluctance to enter attack scenes are normal and to be respected. Providing support away from the immediate crime scene is invaluable and greatly appreciated by all.