Is downtown Cape Coral prepared for a mass shooting?

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Cape Coral Police Dept. badge. (Credit: WINK News)
Cape Coral Police Dept. badge. (Credit: WINK News)

As you have heard, police stopped the Dayton gunman in 30 seconds, saving numerous lives. But, what is in place here to protect you in public?

That is all it took in Dayton, Ohio, for police to stop a shooter suspected of already murdering nine people.

“You can do a lot of damage with any kind of weapon in 30 seconds,” said Master Sgt. Patrick O’Grady of the Cape Coral Police Dept. “That’s almost unheard of. They were very lucky that those officers were there at that moment.”

The mass shooting in Dayton’s downtown district made us think of our own.

Cape Coral is now quiet, but the downtown district can quickly become busy come Friday and Saturday night when residents want to celebrate another successful week of hard work.

CCPD told us their officers on the scene are one of the best resources in an unthinkable situation.

“One of the best technologies that we have in an active shooter situation is all the security cameras in the area,” O’Grady said. “Because we can actually track people through other people’s security cameras.”

However, Southwest Florida is all too familiar with shootings, unfortunately; such as the 2015 deadly Zombicon shooting in downtown Fort Myers.

Since then, Fort Myers police brought in new cameras to downtown and implemented new shot spotter technology that gives it a notification to the sound of gunfire around the city.

In an email to WINK News, FMPD said its officers had received extensive training on how to respond to such situations. The violence last weekend reinforced its resolve always to be vigilant and prepared to act quickly.

CCPD told us right now, it does not have any plans to implement shot spotter technology. But, especially in downtown, when it is the busiest on the weekends, CCPD has officers on standby ready to go at a moment’s notice.

“And then to see the officers get there in 30 seconds and take care of business the way they did,” O’Grady said. “That was very impressive.”

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