Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: The FBI and its partners continue to train to better respond in the event of a terror attack at large public venues such as a U.S. mall.

James Yacone: We do not currently have an active threat regarding the mall sector or any other large public venues at this time.

Halpern: The FBI and nearly 1,000 security and public safety officers, law enforcement members, and emergency responders from across the country recently evaluated their response to a mock complex terror attack at an Indianapolis mall. The simulation was one of the largest full-scale exercises of its kind and was the capstone event of a series of exercises held over the past six months across the U.S. Assistant Director James Yacone says identifying strengths and weakness will guide future responses.

Yacone: The lessons learned and best practices really focus on three major areas. It’s the command, control, and communications and how they occur between the public and the private sector entities. We will implement those best practices and lessons learned.

Halpern: The FBI will share that information with private sector entities that have large public venues. The Bureau also is developing a new training exercise series for next year. From FBI Headquarters, I’m Mollie Halpern with FBI, This Week.

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