Page 30 - Security Today, January 2018

TIMELINE OF CHURCH CAMPUS SHOOTINGS
JUNE 2015
Charleston, South Carolina
On June 17, 2015, a gunman joined in on a prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, and opened fire on the participants. Nine people were killed, including the senior pastor, Clementa C. Pinckney, and three others were injured but survived. The gun- man was a known white supremacist and hoped to spark a “racial war” with his crime.
SEPTEMBER 2017
Antioch, Tennessee
One person was killed and eight more were injured after a masked man opened fire on members of Burnette Chapel on September 24, 2017, in Antioch, South Carolina. The gunman first shot and killed a woman in the parking lot of the church’s campus before entering the church and opening fire on congregants. The gun- man left a note in his car stating he had been hearing voices, including the voice of the 2015 Charleston church shooter.
NOVEMBER 2017
Sutherland Springs, Texas
On November 5, 2017, a mass shooting occurred at the First Bap- tist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The gunman fired sev- eral rounds in the parking lot of the church campus and then entered the sanctuary and opened fire on the members of the church. Twenty-six people were killed and twenty more were injured in the attack. The age range of the victims was 18 months to 77 years old.
COVER STORY
religious conversation in America.”
Earlier this year, Texas, where the Sutherland Springs shooting took
place, had their own discussion about security in church campuses and other houses of worship. Texas Senate Bill 2065, which went into effect Sept. 1, includes language that allows volunteers to provide security at places of worship and be exempt from the requirements of the Private Security Act. The goal was to make it easier for churches and other places of worship to form volunteer security teams, as the legislation waives state requirements on training, licensing, insurance and back- ground checks for these teams, making them a more viable option.
LOOKING TOWARD A MORE SECURE FUTURE
The reality is that security at churches is always evolving. Most church campuses do have procedures and policies in place for emergency situ- ations, but with each violent incident that happens at houses of wor- ship, their security measures change.
With each incident, church leadership is able to evaluate their own procedures and potentially find holes in their own security.
Today, First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs acts as a memo- rial site for the 26 people who passed away during a church service, which used to be thought of as one of the safest gatherings in the world. Let’s work together to prevent any more
violent incidents surrounding some of our most
sacred locations in the country.
Jessica Davis is an Associate Content Editor at 1105 Media.
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