Reflections After the #SanBernardino 12/2 Terrorist Attack

As I reflect on the seven year anniversary of the 12/2/2015 attack in San Bernardino, I am reminded of the lifelong challenges many faced as a result of that event. Some people lost spouses, children, best friends, and some were left with significant injuries as a result of that day.

Everyone left with painful memories.

The day started out in typical fashion.

As I drove into #CityHall, I received a call from the #SBPD SWAT commander. We had plans to have lunch together that day, but he needed to cancel because he had training to lead for the SWAT team. I told him to send me dates to reschedule, and I wished him and the crew good luck during their training.

I didn't know that the coincidence of the SWAT training that same day, and the events that would unfold later that morning would work towards saving many lives.

As Chief of Staff to San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis, I spent the beginning of my day catching up with the team and planning our workday. I remember being in my office and receiving a call from the Assistant Chief of Police who told me that there was a terrible situation; at least a handful of people confirmed dead, and many more were seriously injured by an active shooter. Our officers were on their way to clear the building, and he told me that he would inform me of additional information as he received it. The one positive; our SWAT team was training that morning and was already in route thereby saving precious time.

I got off the phone, and immediately called the Mayor who was in a regional meeting. He was not answering my calls, so we had a note delivered to him in the middle of the meeting and asked him to call me due to the emergency.

He called me and I updated him on the information I had, and told him that all city facilities were going to go into lockdown, and that he should make it back to City Hall.

Once he arrived, we gathered as much information as we could and proceeded to coordinate multiple aspects of our response. This included up to date information on social media, communications to the community, discussions with Police leadership, ensuring the safety of our employees, and fielding countless calls to City Hall.

The casualties began to increase, and we began getting a better idea of what had happened.

The other bad news: the suspect was still on the run.

Within an hour, the White House called and asked to speak to me; I spoke to them and they asked for my city phone number and personal number, and also asked for the Mayor's business and personal numbers. They told me they were watching the events unfold, and that President Obama sent his immediate thoughts and that they would continue to monitor the events as they unfolded. They conveyed their desire to schedule a call with President Obama and Mayor Davis. I told them we would absolutely make this happen, and we coordinated it for the next morning.

An emergency closed door meeting of the Mayor and City Council was called and we received updates from the FBI and law enforcement about the latest information which was not for public dissemination.

Later on that day, we coordinated a community event center to function as the meeting place for all victims and families to be reunited. Meals were donated, water and drinks were provided, and everyone came together to help. During this same time, we listened to a police radio as police agencies began to converge on the suspects. Police had engaged the suspects in a gun battle and both suspects were dead.

As the day progressed into the night, a number of family members still had not heard or met with their loved ones. The remaining family members began to figure out that their loved ones had mostly likely died and were awaiting one on one discussions with the proper authorities to advise them of this information. One by one they were advised, and we cried together, provided words of faith, and shared hugs to try and comfort them as much as possible. We stayed until every family member left that night.

The next 24 hours would become a blur; every news agency from across the world wanted an exclusive interview with the Mayor. We discussed our communications strategy and the need to provide the community and victims messages of comfort, while assuring our community that public safety remained the top priority. We did countless interviews that morning beginning at 3am, and immediately went back to the office to begin planning for a community wide vigil to allow members of the community to come together and to receive the President's call.

What mattered most in those first 24 hours was nothing about political points, or political messaging, but creating the environment in which the community could heal, mourn, and come together knowing that the community had experienced one of its darkest days.

It was all about being a human, showing compassion, lending hugs for those who needed them, and letting people heal and mourn in their own ways.

While it was one of the most tragic events a community could endure, the community certainly came together to provide love and compassion for all those impacted by the events of that day. #SBStrong