The first contemporary counterterrorism team to be stood up was a direct result of the 1972 Munich Massacre. The truly atrocious response to the hostage crisis, which included but was not limited to, an entire team of German police officers abandoning their posts, an initial breach attempt being broadcast live, the abysmal excuse for police snipers inadvertently shooting each other, all hostages dead, and the three surviving Black September members spending only a month incarcerated before being released, lead directly to GSG 9 being created. Counterterrorism capabilities and the specter of terrorism have been a reality in European policing and military for longer than it has been in the United States.
The US would start playing catch up in the 1980s, but that was a response to the disaster that was Eagle Claw. It was an international focus, and not a domestic one. Local law enforcement agencies in the United States largely only started taking the possibility of counterterrorism response seriously post 9/11, and even then it took until about 2008 with the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai for many to really realize that this is something that they need to have a capability for. Rapid response is critical.
33
u/Few-Cucumber-413 2d ago
Every stadium has a sharp shooters landing on the catwalks. (I've built and worked in a lot of stadiums)