Leveraging Data in Times of Crisis: Managing a Mass Shooting in Aurora, IL

In February of 2019, Aurora, Illinois, unfortunately, joined the ever-growing list of cities that have experienced a mass shooting within the United States. The outcome of the tragedy resulted in five deaths, as well as six injured, including five police officers. The incident almost immediately went viral on social media and was soon picked up by the national media as well. In addition to the news vans from major TV networks, more than 300 first responders from multiple law enforcement agencies descended on the city. This created an information overload about the incident and on what was being reported.

The City knew it needed to take control, and fast. It had to have a better grasp of how the event was being discussed and presented to the public, while at the same time ensuring that residents were receiving accurate information. The City turned to technology. With the help of Zencity’s Artifical Intelligence platform, it leveraged the wealth of data streaming in from multiple channels in parallel, ranging from their own official sites, to national broadcast media, to unofficial social media sources, so that they could take a data-driven approach to manage the crisis.

To learn what steps the City took to manage the information residents received, the overflow of reporting on the shooting nationally, and finally how Zencity became a tool in managing the aftermath of the tragedy and helped the community to bounce back, download the full case study below.