“Be self-controlled and
alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
On Dec 29, 2019 another active shooter event happened at the West
Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas. I pray for and grieve with, the families who
have suffered loss in this tragic event. I don't wish to make light of
this but it is also an opportunity to begin a discussion in churches about
something they should already be talking about, Church Security. This is NOT a POLITICAL analysis of Sunday’s
murders in a church in White Settlement, Texas. It is meant to educate in technical and
tactical applications of church safety for all houses of worship. This is an educational analysis not meant to
be critical of any person except the murderer.
By taking the opportunity to analyze in greater detail we may be able to
develop a plan that will help save more lives in the future.
Normally, it is better to wait 3-4 days until we can learn more
about the situation prior to sounding off about what happened when we have no
real information yet about the shooter or how the event was precipitated. This is also an unusual situation, in that,
we have actual video footage from the church of the event as it happened. As far as I know, this is the first video of
its kind. Because of this I will violate
my policy here and discuss only church security issues that are dear to my
heart, such as safety and security in a church setting. Also we will cover tactics, techniques and
procedures.
Let’s lay out the scenario.
A man attended the service dressed in a dark hoody, and as we found out
later had a concealed shotgun under his hoody, apparently behind his back. Two men in the congregation were shot as well
as the bad guy. Two men died on the
scene, one church member and the bad guy, while the other church member was
taken to the hospital where he later passed away. We can thank God there was a self-defender
there who able to end the threat so quickly before anyone else died. It could have been so much worse.
As you will see, there are many significant lessons that we can see
initially in the video of the attack. I
want you to think about your church safety plan and the need to talk to your
congregation, with you ushers, church security team, and your Greeter Ministry
team about pre-assault indicators (situational awareness). The shooter, having taken a seat on the front
left side of the sanctuary, was wearing a dark hoody with hood up, his hands
were in his pockets, and he’s being forward and aggressive. You must learn that if you have someone who
is nervous and clearly in a heightened emotional state you need to intervene
early. At the risk of second guessing
them I would have attempted to get this guy out of the congregation and
intervene early. I understand you want
to have an open and welcoming church but you want every opportunity to defuse a
situation before it escalates.
If you’ve seen the video you noticed that there were two men side
by side. The man, to the left of the bad
guy, drew his weapon first when realizing the bad guy had a shotgun pulled
out. Here is where we stressed the
importance of fast and accurate first shots.
According to the video the guy had approximately 3.1 seconds to draw and
respond from the time he saw the shotgun to the time the bad guy shot him. My friends, he didn’t make it. So there are two lessons right here. The defender had 3.1 seconds from the time he
saw, what appears to me to be, a pistol grip shotgun until the moment he
dies. When we talk about a fast and
accurate first shot this is what we are talking about. You don’t have all day to draw your firearm,
there is absolutely a timer in a gun fight. There is a reason why it’s so
important to remember that you have only a 2.0 second or less to draw for first
shot in a gun fight. If he had he might
have come out of this alive. It may
sound a bit cold but it is true.
Now think about the second guy who was shot. After the bad guy shot the first victim, the
good guy on the bad guy’s right in the video moves backwards away from the
shooter, putting his hands up in a defensive position. But being that close to the shooter he would
have been better off to move in toward the shooter and deflect the direction of
the muzzle, but he should not have moved backwards. And finally, the defender at the far left who
ultimately made the killing shot on the bad guy took over 5 seconds to draw his
gun out of the holster to the first shot at the bad guy. If he had been able to get his gun out and on
target more quickly he would have had a better shot. That’s why it’s best to practice making fast
and accurate first shots.
We are going to take a guess here, but based on the size of the
pews, the size of the people, and the typical space between the end of the pew
and the wall where the shooter is standing of approximately 6-8 ft. then we’re
looking at about a 12-15 yd. shot with people dying and under stress when the guard
got off the shot before anyone else died.
As we found out a bit later it appears the guard got a head shot. Remember, we want to practice fast and
accurate first shots. Looks look now at follow-up
actions.
Another thing I want you to know is that the guard had his muzzle
up. We don’t know what is above him but
we certainly know what is below him. A
short time later we saw four additional men, for a total of six, armed and
moving up to the front of the church. So
what we saw during that time was the first guy began to draw his weapon but was
too slow and died. The second guard drew
his weapon but not after two men had already been shot, yet he was able to stop
the shooter. The other four armed men
moved up with their guns drawn but were unable to affect the outcome of the
shooting.
My other concern deals with awareness of their backstop. The first guy wasn’t able to get his gun drawn. The second armed man responded, shot the bad
guy, and then held his gun upwards at a high ready, which was good because we
aren’t sure what was below him. The
third guy moving up took quite some time to respond and was not able to affect
the outcome of the shooting at all, and I couldn’t be sure of the position of
his firearm. Then we have a fourth man
in the congregation holding his firearm at a low ready, in some cases can be
okay, but in this case could be a problem because of the possibility of people on
the floor and potential ricochet if his firearm discharged in the excitement. You need to be very careful of that. And now the fifth armed guy moving up looks
like he is holding his gun straight out in front of him, sweeping across the entire
crowd. Not good! Finally, the sixth armed man moved up with
his muzzle up. Friends, it is critical
to always be aware of your backstop and muzzle position.
So, if you have an armed lay security team train them to always be
aware of their backstop and if you already have one or two people on top the
situation then hang back, let them handle it, and keep your eyes open, panning
the crowd in case there may be additional shooters. Now, I want us to think about the reaction of
the congregation. At the initial first
shot most everyone got done which I think is the right answer. A few tried to run out but most everyone got
down which gave the defender a clear line of fire. Also, notice that all the security team
swarmed in on the guy. I suggest that
you need to have it clearly understood who is in charge and who dials 911. This needs to be designated in advance so if
there is an active murderer the person in charge can give instructions,
everyone else can shut up and listen for their orders.
We also noticed that someone went almost immediately to the downed
person to see if he could help. So, another
important considerations in a case like this is you need to have 1 or 2 people
trained in the use of a Trauma First Aid Kit.
Just having the kit is completely useless unless you have someone
trained to actually use the stuff in it.
It needs to include a mass casualty plan and a comprehensive First Aid
Kit. I know that may sound a bit morbid
to some people but it is important in a situation like this. The quicker someone receives the care they
need the more likely their chance of survival. It needs to have a Chest Seal-Twin Pack, Nitrile
Gloves–No Latex, C-A-T® Tourniquet, Hemostatic Dressing, Celox clotting agent, Betadine
Iodine, S-Rolled Gauze, Polycarbonate Eye Shield, Sterile Gauze Pads, 4 in. x 4
in., Israeli Bandage / Emergency Pressure Bandage, Elastic Wrap, 4 in, Triangular
Bandage, SAM® Splint II, Surgical Tape, 2 in, Flexible Bandages, 0.75 in. x 3
in., Burntec® Burn Dressing, 5 in. x 10 in., Eye Wash, 4 oz, Forceps, Splinter,
4.5 in., Trauma Shears, 7.25 in, CPR Mask, Mylar Blanket – avoid shock, and Kit
Contents Card.
The last thing I want to point out to you is the armed man on the
right side of where the bad guy lays shot.
I noticed, and assumed, he may have been the person assigned to call
911. The amazing thing that struck me
was the fact that he stuck his firearm under his armpit to reach his phone to make
the call. Friends, a few other important
suggestions are, always carry your phone in your non-dominate hand pocket so
you can reach the phone and make the call without messing around with
that. Next, use your assistant, whether
it’s Siri, Google or whatever to call 911. Number three, also have a designated 911
caller on your church safety/security team, and inform your congregation that
you have this designated caller, and finally, all armed members of the security
team need to have a good quality, rigid holster to carry your firearm in and
please put the firearm back in your holster instead of sticking it under your
armpit and sweeping the muzzle across your entire congregation as you move around.
In conclusion from a tactics, techniques, and procedures standpoint,
the biggest things I want to stress here are: being prepared as a
congregation. Thank God there was
someone there prepared in marksmanship and willing to step up to resolve the
crisis. Let’s get fast and accurate with
our handgun, especially at further distances. Let’s be sure we have spiritual fitness; that
our relationship with Jesus is strong and we are ready to meet Him, because if
that day comes we will really need it and at that moment may not have time. Also, let’s make sure our first aid skills
are up to date and our security team is trained to follow up correctly, know and
practice proper firearms safety, and to do the right thing in the moment. Thank the Lord this attack was stopped before
more people were killed!
Be safe!
Russ Sharrock
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
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, you can contact me at:
Integrity Security Consulting
Russ Sharrock
405-762-2471 |
integrityseccon@hotmail.com
