How I would respond to this type of scenario
Before commencing on any operation, all citizens should be requested to move from the scene if possible for their safety, and also to enhance the quality of investigation by the professionals. Since time is crucial to such a situation, I would try to buy as much of it as possible by initiating communication with the terrorist. As the communication continues, my colleagues should be busy trying to understand the whole scenario. This includes identifying the number of hostages, as well as the number, type and exact positions of the bombs, and assessing the amount of risk. The aim of communication would be to identify whether the terrorist is pretending or not, and persuade the terrorist not to take his life by pretending to accept his demands.
Whether I should negotiate with this individual and why
Pretending to negotiate with the terrorist would be necessary so as to buy time and rescue as many hostages as possible. A good conversation should act as a distraction so as to give other professionals a chance to analyze the situation. I used the word ‘pretend’ because I believe a real negotiation that would lead the terrorist to getting what he wants would be more harmful. Negotiations with terrorists are highly discouraged because this would give them courage to carry out more terrorist attacks.
Type of risks that this type of threat would pose to the airport patrons
There are a number of risks that can be identified from this type of scenario. One of the risks is loss of lives by the casualties. This is the risk that is most feared and should be eliminated at all costs possible. Another one is loss of property in case of the detonation of bombs planted throughout the airport. Customers will also be lost due to security issues.
Short-term and long-term consequences of a bomb detonation
Short-term consequences include loss of life and property, injuries, and trauma while long-term consequences include loss of customers and will of people to work at the place.
References
Cygnus Business Media. (2013). http://www.emsworld.com. Retrieved October 19th, 2013, from http://www.emsworld.com/article/10321585/principles-of-mass-casualty-response-to-terrorist-attacks
Peace Research Institute Oslo. (2013). http://sdi.sagepub.com. Retrieved October 19th, 2013, from http://sdi.sagepub.com/content/39/4/407.short
RMS. (2003). Managing Terrorism risk. 11-16.
