“A prudent person foresees danger and takes
precautions.” (Proverbs 22:3)
One of the deadliest active shooter incidents by a single suspect
was the murders at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where
one gunman, dressed in black and armed with a semi-automatic weapon, opened
fire during services killing at least 26 people, some of them children, and
injuring many more. [1] Security
professionals and law enforcement have to look at these incidents and try to
develop a way to prevent something similar from happening again.
Looking at past active shooter cases, there are many, many
differences between them. Some have happened in schools, including urban
or rural and even an Amish school. Some have been in churches;
universities; hospitals; restaurants; political rallies; grocery stores; office
buildings; military bases or warehouses. Some have happened on the street
or in neighborhoods. It is harder to
think of a place that hasn’t been the site of an active shooter.
Too often, there has been little in the way of warning signs or
early indicators. Perhaps some unusual or bizarre behavior, but nothing
that really warned others of what lay under the surface. In other cases,
the suspect has posted violent content or photos online only to be discovered
by authorities after an incident. Even the
types of weapons are different. Obviously, when we talk about active
shooters, we think of the guns involved. But there have been active
attacks with other weapons, including knives or machetes. In just the
first two months of 2020 there were ten stabbings in London, England with
multiple victims killed by a suspect with a knife instead of a gun. [2]
There are some similarities too. Many of the shooters were
stopped by violence as well; shot by either security, police or themselves. In
some cases, bystanders tackled the gunman when they noticed him reloading or
distracted. Often armed security staff or police have been the first to
encounter the gunman, either shooting them or prompting them to commit
suicide. In most of these instances, the gunman (it is usually men
involved although not always), seem to have little concern about their own life
and certainly no concern about others.
So what is the solution? How do we best go about the business
of preventing these types of things from happening or stopping them quickly
when they do?
1) Continue to educate the public about what type of behavior is,
or should be, a warning sign and what steps to take. A large number of
school shootings were prevented because other students notified authorities
about suspicious or violent comments posted online or made in person.
2) Better training on how to respond during an active shooter
scenario should be required. This involves all organizations conducting
drills and including training on what staff or employees should do when there
is an active shooter. General advice includes evacuating if possible,
hiding if not and fighting back to protect yourself.
3) Organizations need to develop clear procedures on how to respond
to violent behavior and threats. The policies and procedures serve as a
way to reinforce staff training on how to avoid violence as well as how to
react during an active shooter situation. Local police can help tailor
the procedure to match their response.
4) All organizations should have some form of risk assessment and
guidelines to help identify when they might be at risk. For example,
schools should always review outings where a large number of students will be
out of the building and in the community somewhere. At least within the
school, teachers have practiced lockdown and lockout responses to
threats. Even the risk of custody or parental disputes spilling over to
field trips is greater with less control over access to students.
5) Staffing plans may need to include armed security or police
presence. When Keith Thomas Kinnunen attacked West Freeway Church of
Christ in the city of White Settlement, Texas, a member of their Security
Ministry shot and killed him instantly. If security had not been
present, the death toll may have been much higher. [3]
The strange thing about potential prevention is the opposing views
that come to the surface. Even though armed personnel have stopped many
of the shooters or prevented them from going farther, there is a reluctance to
allow armed personnel. Across the United States, many areas have looked
at laws to allow individuals with concealed carry permits to remain armed while
on campus. But too often these laws are rejected and law-abiding armed
citizens are not allowed to carry a firearm. Even within the security
industry, there has been a trend to move towards unarmed security personnel and
away from armed staff.
Obviously, the decision about having armed security or allowing
concealed weapons is a critical one with potential problems as well as
benefits. The decision should be made after careful consideration of a
number of specifics. There are financial
considerations of course. What is the training level of the armed
personnel? What about liability? Will the presence of armed
security make visitors, employees or other attendees feel safer? The
answer to that will fall on both sides of the line (armed or not) for almost
all organizations. Some considerations include known threats, such as a
high number of workplace violence incidents or high crime area. Other
factors may not tie into past incidents at all, but consider the number of
potential victims. Large crowds, especially in tight confines, should be
regarded as a higher risk target.
Active shooters are a very complex and difficult security issue and
there is no easy or simple answer. It is time for organizations of all
types to make sure that their staffs are trained on the basics of what to do
during an active shooter situation. The
second element is carefully evaluating the potential risks, threats, and what
the response should be, including having armed security or police officers
available.
If you have any questions, or if you are
interested in a consultation on safety & security for your church you can
contact me through the information below.
Be safe!
[1] https://time.com/5010772/texas-sutherland-springs-church-shooting/
[2] https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10675945/london-stabbings-2020-murders-knife-crime-statistics/
[3] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/west-freeway-church-of-christ-shooting-gunman-opens-fire-at-white-settlement-texas-church-today-live-updates-2019-12-29/
Integrity Security Consulting
Russ Sharrock
405-762-2471 |
integrityseccon@hotmail.com
I have developed and made available to anyone interested, for FREE, a series of Security & safety forms that can
be printed for your use:
1) A Safety & Security Risk Assessment Form
2) Church Security Plan Template
3) Church Emergency Plan Template
4) A General Fire Safety Checklist
5) A Bomb Threat Checklist
6) A Bomb Threat Distance Chart: Includes various types of
explosive devises and to be referred to in an event of a bomb threat
evacuation. These are minimum distances to evacuate away from the area of
explosion.
7) Facility Lockdown Checklist
8) Child Protection Covenant
9) Church Emergency Management Checklist
These MS Word documents can be adapted as necessary to fit your
church size and needs. I will be adding new forms as time allows.
For a copy of any of these FREE
forms, or if you have any questions, contact me and let me know what your needs
are.
