S5|E2 Sandy Hook to Bondi: Guns, Suicide and the Women Who Talk to the Dead — Part Two

What happens when three experienced investigators from opposite sides of the world sit down to examine how police respond to an active shooter?

In this special crossover between Stop the Killing and Watching Two Detectives, former FBI Special Agent Katherine Schweit joins retired New South Wales detectives Peter Hogan and Scott Rogan for an expert examination of the lessons that have reshaped mass-shooting prevention, preparation and police response.

Katherine was working on national security and counterterrorism cases when the murder of 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School changed the direction of her career. Following the shooting, she was appointed to the White House team tasked with developing a coordinated national response to mass shootings and became the architect of the FBI’s Active Shooter Program.

In Part One, Katherine explains how the devastating events at Sandy Hook helped accelerate a fundamental change in policing: moving away from the traditional strategy of “contain, negotiate and wait” towards the immediate deployment of officers to confront and stop an active threat.

Peter and Scott reveal how those lessons travelled across the world and influenced Australian policing. They discuss the introduction of New South Wales Police’s Active Armed Offender training, the impact of the 2014 Lindt Café siege and the confronting reality of preparing ordinary frontline officers to run towards attackers armed with military-style weapons.

Together, they explore:

Why active-shooter incidents can be over within minutes

The extraordinary risks faced by the first officers entering the scene

Why an active shooter and a mass shooting are not always the same thing

Why workplaces—not schools—account for many active-shooter attacks in the United States

The challenges of negotiating with attackers driven by extremist or ideological motives

Why warning signs must be recognised and reported before violence begins