NC crime commission encourages communities to have plan in place for mass shootings

Experts said it's not uncommon for other forms of violence to escalate after a mass incident.

Mary Vail Ware is the project manager for the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center.

Ware said communities must have a plan in place for a mass violence incident.

"You don't know who is legitimate, and who is not, who brings expertise, and who doesn't," Ware said.

Shooting in Raleigh: City reviewing alert system after some Hedingham neighbors were left in the dark

Ware also points to the need for outside resources.

"More victim service agencies should be collaborating together." said Liddie Shropshire, director of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety's Victim Services team.

She said institutions and first responders don't have the capacity to keep up through all of the recovery.

Ware said many first responders leave their jobs after an event like the mass shooting in the Hedingham community.

"They have been traumatized also, and crime keeps happening in the community, and emergencies keep happening, and EMS still has to deploy," Ware said. "They leave one at a time, but after five years they're all gone."

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety's Victim Services team responded to the Hedingham neighborhood. The program assists with medical, funeral and counseling expenses for victims of crime.

"It was hard," Shropshire said. "We're talking about vicarious trauma. and I still feel from that incident today."

Shropshire emphasized the importance of working with law enforcement and other groups to streamline the process.

Ware also said she believes Raleigh should have declared an emergency after the Hedingham shooting to get immediate access to national emergency resources.