Can Retailers Take a Proactive Approach to Prevent Mass Shootings?

 

Anytime tragedies the nature of this weekend’s mass shootings at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas and at bars in Dayton, Ohio occur, a reassessment of safety needs to take place. But where is the logical starting point?

Each shooting tragedy has its own unique set of circumstances that lead to its origin and its end, but can businesses play a larger role in ensuring customer safety, and if so, to what extent?

Dr. Alex del Carmen, Executive Director and Professor at the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies at Tarleton State University has spent his career examining public safety protocol.

“There has to be a line between the extreme and what is expected by the community,” del Carmen said.

While it can be difficult to stop something as daunting as a mass shooter, del Carmen says there are actionable items retailers and restaurants can do to increase customer safety. These include increasing lighting, limiting points of entry and adding security detail.

Crime prevention strategy is not always top of mind for retailers, and cost-effectiveness certainly plays a role in this, but del Carmen says stores have the tools to be more proactive than reactive.

“Technology has been used, but it’s mostly reactive. For instance, people say ‘I’ve got cameras’. Well that’s great but you’re going to have a video or still shot of the guy who killed a whole bunch of people. But what use is that except to tell the story the day after,” del Carmen explained. “There needs to be a monitory component to those cameras.”

Time will tell if the lessons from these incidents are learned, and if those teachings are put into action.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the AEC Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @AECMKSL
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

mentorship
WAVIT’s Mentorship Program: Cyndie Nelson on Building Careers Through Guidance
July 19, 2025

The AV industry, like many others in tech, often thrives on innovation—but it’s mentorship that sustains it. Behind every successful professional is often a mentor who provided guidance, shared hard-earned lessons, and opened doors that might have otherwise stayed shut. Programs like WAVIT (Women in AV/IT) bring this spirit of mentorship into focus by intentionally…

Read More
mentorship
Empowering Innovation: Kim Porter’s Role in the WAVIT Mentorship Program
July 19, 2025

In an industry where innovation often hinges on experience, mentorship is the bridge that connects the wisdom of the past with the promise of the future. Engineering, especially in the mechanical domain, is traditionally seen as a discipline of precision, but its culture is just as vital as its calculations. That’s why programs like WAVIT’s…

Read More
mentorship
Passion, Power, and the Mentorship Paradigm Shift in Tech
July 19, 2025

In today’s rapidly evolving tech world, mentorship has emerged as more than a professional development tool—it’s a powerful human connection that fosters resilience, purpose, and authenticity. Particularly for women in engineering and STEM, mentorship isn’t just about career guidance; it’s a lifeline to navigating environments where their voices may still fight to be heard. While…

Read More
AV
Lessons in Leadership: Mitek’s Cyndie Nelson on the Power of Mentoring Women in AV Technology
July 19, 2025

Mentorship has long been considered a cornerstone of professional development, but in the fast-evolving world of AV technology and sales, its value has never been more evident. The unspoken nuances of tradecraft—those bits of wisdom not found in textbooks—are often only accessible through the lived experience of mentors. Particularly for women in traditionally male-dominated industries,…

Read More