It has been seven years since he lost his 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa. She was one of 17 students and staff shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
His eyes sparkle and voice shakes when he talks about his daughter, an intelligent honor student and star soccer player.
“Alyssa was a golden star,” he said. “And she always rose to the occasion.”
Alyssa’s parents have channeled their grief into purpose. They started the Make Our Schools Safe Foundation and have been busy pressing states to adopt Alyssa’s Law. It requires school districts to implement wearable panic alarms that connect instantly with police.
“What we know is that Alyssa’s Law saves lives,” Alhadeff said.
Alhadeff, who is a doctor, has a new target audience for his message. He is now encouraging medical facilities like hospitals to better secure their buildings and protect patients and staff.
“We already know school shootings have been on the rise, and now we’re seeing rising violence in hospitals,” he said.
One of those incidents happened a few hours drive east of Pittsburgh, in York. A gunman entered an intensive care unit in February, held staff hostage and shot some of them.
The gunman was killed in a shootout with police, as was one of the responding police officers.
11 Investigates learned after the shooting, UPMC made sweeping changes to safety and security across its facilities.
Alhadeff said those kinds of security upgrades should no longer be optional in 2025. The doctor is calling on lawmakers to require hospitals to invest in security.
“This saves lives. And the best part is it’s not political,” Alhadeff said. “Yes, everything has a cost to it. But what’s the cost of one life?”
Experts say medical facilities are vulnerable to attacks because they are emotionally charged places. People get bad news at the doctor’s office. They lose loved ones in hospitals. A week before the deadly hostage situation in York, the shooter’s significant other was admitted to the ICU. Her condition worsened and she died.
Jeff James is a retired Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the United States Secret Service. He agrees that medical facilities are vulnerable to threats and are so-called “soft targets.” He consults with facilities across Pennsylvania and beyond to improve their security plans and processes.
“I look at it through the eyes of a bad guy,” he said. “If I was gonna hit you, here is how I would do it, and here’s where I would do it.”
James said a shooter’s manifesto can teach us a lot and help facilities better prepare and deter mass violence.
“The plan books will say, I surveilled these three facilities,” he said. “This one had security, this one had a couple cops driving around and this one had no security, and they always go to that path of least resistance.”
“So just the appearance of being more secure can be a deterrent?” asked investigative reporter Jatara McGee.
“Absolutely,” James said.
He added that close calls and security lapses should be addressed immediately when they happen, and changes should be made.
“That old saying, lightning doesn’t strike twice? It does. Lightning hits the same places all the time. There’s a reason it hit in the first place,” he said.
He says in his experience, decisions about security almost always come down to cost. But what is the potential cost of waiting to make changes? That’s what he says facilities and leaders need to consider.
Alhadeff said when he grows weary from fighting for her change, he remembers how hard his daughter fought for what she believed in.
“My daughter was relentless. She would not stop until she got her way. And she would say ‘dad, keep pushing forward,’” he said. “And we will have to do that.”
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