S1E1 - The Lifeboat: A Journey into the Emergency Management Response to the October 1st, 2017 Route 91 Shooting in Las Vegas

In this episode, we discuss leadership responses to the October 1st, 2017 mass shooting at the Route 91 Music Festival in Las Vegas with two individuals who were central to the response. Captain John Pelletier of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), the Incident Commander for the event, and Rachel Skidmore, the Emergency Manager for the LVMPD. They discuss what was involved with stabilizing and responding to the situation. They also discuss the importance of pre-planning, communication, and the need to develop and maintain relationships with key people at other agencies, so a rapid coordination and utilization of community resources can occur. The lessons learned from the October 1st, 2017 shooting, are beneficial for preparing for similar events in the future, and are also useful more broadly for leaders in many fields.

Produced By

Justin Levinsky

Kelsey Martin

Chris Phelps

Alexa Rodriguez

Hiram

Audio Engineering

Kevin Krall

Executive Producer

Joel D. Lieberman

Leading Las Vegas is a podcast produced by the Emergency and Crisis Management Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Each season, students in a Leadership, Innovation and Adaptability class interview prominent leaders, who discuss their leadership approaches, and how they prepare for, respond to, and recover from shocks and stresses faced by the community.

Las Vegas is known for being the entertainment capital of the world. However, it is also a complex environment, with a highly diverse community living in densely populated urban and suburban areas. It is situated near rugged and desolate land, with an arid climate and extreme temperatures in summer months. This unique nature of the city and its location create dynamic challenges for leaders.

Each season, the Leading Las Vegas podcast will focus on specific issues relevant to emergencies and crises, as well as community resilience. It’s a must-listen for emergency managers, leaders, community members, and students interested in the field of emergency crisis management.

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Season 1 of Leading Las Vegas focuses on Tourist Safety. Tourism is an integral part of Las Vegas, with over 42 million people visiting the city every year. Large-scale events from shows at hotel properties, to music festivals, to high-profile sporting events, occur on a nightly basis, along with conventions that can draw well over 100,000 attendees. Different agencies work together in the community to plan for these events, and respond when safety threats occur.

In this season, we discuss issues of event planning, current and future threats, as well as community resilience. Las Vegas was also the site of the October 1, 2017 Route 91 Music Festival shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The season contains an episode focused on the shooting, and conversations with the leaders involved with the security planning and response to the attack, and an interview with Las Vegas mayor, Carolyn Goodman, who discusses the city’s resilience.

• No. of episodes: 9
• Latest episode: 2022-08-05
• Government

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