Three women who were all out-of-state tourists, were recently killed and four others injured in a mass shooting in Los Angeles County. As one of several mass casualty events in the area during the first months of 2023, this trend of violence is distressing.
While the investigation into what happened is still underway, police do say It took place early on a Saturday morning in front of a short-term rental house in the Beverly Crest neighborhood, just east of Beverly Hills. According to witnesses, a party was underway, and after officers responded to multiple 911 calls, the three women were found dead in a car near the front of the house.
What is a mass casualty event?
A mass casualty event occurs when the amount of people killed or injured as the result of one event such as a shooting, building collapse, or natural disaster, overwhelm the resources available to help the victims.
A mass shooting, like the ones that occurred at the beginning of this year, is when one or more people kill or injures multiple people simultaneously. For example, in addition to the shooting where we cleaned the car of biohazards, there were other shootings including six people killed inside a home in Goshen, a 72-year-old man killed 11 people and injured nine others at a Monterey Park dance studio, and a 66-year-old man killed seven co-workers and injured one more in Half Moon Bay, all in the month of January, in addition to several other mass shooting events described in the news article.
Bio SoCal cleans vehicle after mass shooting
In the neighborhood of Beverly Crest, Bio SoCal was called to the mass casualty scene to clean the vehicle once the area was released back to the property owners. Without cleaning the car of all the blood and body fluids as well as decontaminating every surface, the vehicle could not be dealt with safely. Many people believe that the police will clean the biohazards from the vehicle, but that is outside the purview of the police officers’ duty. A biohazard cleanup company should be called in to clean the crime scene after the mass casualty incident. Only people with specialized biohazard cleanup training should ever undertake cleaning blood and other biohazards from an area whether one person is injured or many. Even the smaller jobs we handle take in-depth knowledge, expertise, and professional equipment to be able to declare an area truly clean and protect all those involved in the cleaning and recovery.
When there are structural layers, small nooks, and crannies, or a widespread crime scene, as is common with mass shootings, it is easy for most people to miss spots of blood or not realize there are hazards not seen with the naked eye. This is especially true in cases like the vehicle the three women were in which we cleaned in Beverly Crest.
With all the tiny areas of a car right around the driver and passengers, it is easy for blood and body tissues to find their way into hard-to-reach crevices. Some parts of the car, such as the seats and the carpet, cannot be salvaged, and must be disposed of as biohazardous waste. Other parts, such as metal and hard plastic, need to be meticulously cleaned from top to bottom to remove all the fluids and prevent cross-contamination.
Trained and experienced in how to properly clean crime scenes after mass casualty events throughout Southern California, our entire team at Bio SoCal know how to meticulously work through a scene whether in a large space or a compact car to make sure all hazards are removed and all personal belongings are returned to families whenever possible. Protecting both ourselves and others, we work hard to prevent further trauma and help our local communities begin to heal after mass casualty and mass shooting events.
Bio SoCal is here to serve after mass shooting events
It is our hope this series of mass shootings quickly comes to an end. Violence shatters lives and has far-reaching effects; every death is a tragedy.
Until that happens, Bio SoCal is here 24/7 to clean and remediate after mass casualty incidents and mass shooting events to protect our communities and help them move forward by grieving in safety.
