Representative Daisy Morales (D-Orlando) and Senator Lori Berman (D-Delray Beach) have filed HB 1271 and SB 1672 to require the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to implement an alert system to be activated on the report of an active shooter. The alert system would then notify residents within a 50-mile radius of the shooter’s location. The bill would also require the Florida Department of Transportation to establish a plan for providing relevant information to the public within the 50-mile radius using their existing dynamic message signs.
“We know that in active shooter situations, notification and response times are critical to saving lives. This Active Shooter Alert System creates a notification if there is an active shooter situation in an area of Florida. The idea with the warning system is to model it after emergency alerts used to notify people of abducted children (AMBER Alerts), missing seniors (Silver Alerts) or when members of law enforcement are critically injured (Blue Alert), ” said Representative Daisy Morales.
“An alert system is a viable way to alert people in our communities when to seek cover, should a situation arise. In today’s world, we truly don’t know when and where the next shooting will occur, but we hope there will never be another. We should be aware and protect ourselves as much as possible, just as we would do during a weather emergency or otherwise,” said Senator Lori Berman.
