First appearance of Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green. His character would remain on the show through the middle of season 18.
This episode appears to be based on two separate spree killings:
- The 1989 École Polytechnique massacre committed by Marc Lepine.
- The 1993 101 California Street shooting, in San Francisco, California.
Rita Gardner, who plays "Second Judge" in this episode, played Luisa in the original off-Broadway cast of the musical "The Fantasticks"--as of 2021 the longest-running musical in theatrical history. Another original cast member in that production was Jerry Orbach, who long played Detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order.
Kevin Elden has played five different roles over the course of the series:
- Episode 9.1 Cherished (1998) - Oscar Castellano.
- Episode 9.14 Sideshow (1999) - CSU Detective Kett.
- Episode 10.1 Gunshow (1999) - Dan Hayala.
- Episode 11.21 Brother's Keeper (2001) - Payton.
- Episode 14.8 Embedded (2003) - Bernie.