Crowd evacuation during slashing terrorist attack: a multi-agent simulation approach

ABSTRACTAttacks by terrorist using sharp objects such as knives and axes occurred frequently. The evolution of the slashing event involves many factors. A system exploration is needed to reveal the mechanism, find key factors, and choose effective response. We built agent-based model of terrorist and civilian and explored the process of evacuation during slashing attack. We formalized the attack process of terrorist using a finite state machine, and analyzed the characteristics of sharp weapons. We proposed a civilian behavior model based on the perception-decision-behavior framework. In emergency state, civilian takes action based on the current situation and his/her individual characteristics. Based on the multi-agent model, we developed a simulation software. Evacuation in slashing event is simulated to study the relationship between civilian's characteristics and the event consequence. The results show that the civilian's observation range and risk sensitivity have significant impact on the number of casualties.