Threat assessment expert discusses signs of danger, mass shootings
Threat assessment is determining the credibility and seriousness of a potential threat.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KABC) -- Clayton Cranford is a retired sergeant from the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Cranford is the founder of cybersafetycop.com and he now travels across the United States teaching threat assessment courses to school districts or companies.
Threat assessment is determining the credibility and seriousness of a potential threat.
He focuses on identifying signs of danger and how to stop mass shootings.
He says behavior and social media are big clues.
"When someone is really kind of in that space mentally, the violence, the homicidal ideas just kind of leaks out into their language. When they're talking to people, it'll leak out into their social media and what they're posting," Cranford said.
With the recent Monterey Park mass shooting which killed 11 innocent victims, his tips are prevalent now more than ever.
The Monterey Park mass shooter, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, was described as distrusting and not having many friends.
Cranford says he believes tragedies, like mass shootings, are typically planned by people, but that a triggering event or situation can change the window of opportunity.
"I don't believe these people typically wake up one day and snap, especially when you do that research and find evidence that they've been creating, amassing weapons. They're usually writing down in a diary how they're going to do it," Cranford said.
In the case with the Tran, authorities searched his home in Hemet and found a rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and numerous electronic devices .There were also items that led investigators to believe Tran was manufacturing homemade firearm suppressors.
We don't know if mental health was a factor in the Monterey Park shooting, but Cranford says it must be taken seriously by the city, state and stakeholders.
He also says threat assessment training is extremely important for school resources officers and law enforcement in general so everyone is on the same page on how to find signs of danger.
Cranford has resources available for the public on his website.
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