Church Shootings: The Need For Emergency Planning & Practical Training
On December 9, 2007, four people and the gunman died in attacks at the Colorado Springs New Life Church and the Youth With a Mission missionary center in the town of Arvada, Colorado. Five people were wounded. What, if anything, can be done to mitigate the consequences of these mass shootings and the insanity that comes with it?
There have been a plethora of deranged shootings on religious institutional premises in the last decade. Examples include:
• August 12, 2007: A lone gunman, Eiken Elam Saimon, opened fire in a Missouri Micronesian church, killing a pastor and two other churchgoers.
• May 20, 2007: A standoff between police and a suspect in the shootings of three people in a Moscow, Idaho, Presbyterian Church ended with three dead, including one police officer.
• Although not at a church building, the Oct. 2, 2006, attack in Lancaster County, Pa., by a gunman who killed five girls and then himself at an Amish school targeted a religious site.
• May 21, 2006: Louisiana. Four were killed by a man at Jesus Christ Church.
• Feb. 26, 2006: Michigan. Two people were killed at Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church by a man who reportedly went to the church looking for his girlfriend. He later killed himself.
• April 9, 2005: A 27-year-old airman died after being shot at a church in College Park, Ga., where he had once worked as a security guard.
• March 12, 2005: A man walked into the services of the Living Church of God in Milwaukee and open fired immediately, killing seven people.
• Oct. 5, 2003: A woman opened fire in Turner Monumental AME church in Kirkwood, east of Atlanta, killing the pastor and two others.
• Sept. 16, 1999: Seven young people were killed when a man opened fire during a prayer service for teen-agers at the Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.
These incidents highlight the need for religious organizations to recognize the realities of the world we live in.
When someone is victimized by violent crime, there is a huge ripple effect. Many people have become desensitized to violence due to mass media, entertainment with violent themes and the general world-wide increase in violence. But that desensitization does not remove the post trauma that may last a lifetime, the fatherless or motherless child, the despair and senselessness or the loss to organization; all which come with mass murder.
As senseless as these shootings are, often times the toll is mitigated by other bystanders and observers who become involved, either by their mission or by their choice. In the case of the New Life Church, we must recognize this simple fact: lives were saved due to proactive planning and training. New Life Church had proactive emergency plans in place and Jeanne Assam had appropriate training. This saved many lives.
The average duration of a typical violent encounter is less than 2 minutes. In a survey of 63 cities in the United States, conducted by the International City/County Municipal Association, (a professional and educational organization for municipal administrators) the average response time of police was 6 minutes and 15 seconds. You do the math.
Additionally, religious organizations are not immune to being sued. The First Amendment will provide limited protection for organizations to believe what they want, but do not give them protection to do, or not do, any action they want. Currently, tort actions against churches generally seek large sums of money, and courts are much more willing to entertain legal actions against the church than they were even a decade ago. A church can be sued for any reason. Lawsuits cause major disruptions, cost a considerable amount to defend, and invite publicity.
Negligence is defined as a party’s failure to exercise the prudence and care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances to prevent injury to another party. Given the mass shootings that have taken place over the last decade, do churches have a legal obligation to protect the congregants from deranged individuals?
Generally, the plaintiff is these cases must prove the following in order to be awarded restitution, compensation or reparations for their losses:
• that the defendant had a duty of care;
• that the defendant failed to uphold this duty;
• that this negligence led to the plaintiff’s injury or death;
• the actual damages that were caused by the injury.
Gross negligence is usually understood to involve an act or omission in reckless disregard of the consequences affecting the life or property of another.
Every religious institution worldwide is vulnerable to these types of attacks, given the current geopolitical climate. There are strategies available that are able to reduce risk and liability of these organizations, both large and small.
First, entities need to determine their primary mission. Thereafter, using a strategic formula, a solid Vulnerability Assessment will determine what critical assets are of value to an organization. Critical assets are defined as those which, if destroyed, compromised, or otherwise degraded, would seriously jeopardize the organization’s mission.
Once those assets are determined, a thorough and comprehensive assessment of probable threats to those assets is completed. In an objective manner, the likelihood of attack or security breach as well as the likelihood of an accompanying economic loss, loss of life, and/or loss of mission is estimated.
After conducting this assessment, a plan evolves, which includes details of the vulnerabilities along with recommendations for various layers and levels of protection. A good assessment should also include resources to help enact the plan, which may include certified training, hardware and technology, or personnel.
Additionally, there is significant research available that looks into the minds of the people who commit these atrocities. Solid conclusions can be drawn from this area of study with practical application to emergency planning.
An organization’s specific assets might be identified as a person, a thing, a place, or a procedure. Examples include:
• A municipality that desires security plans for critical assets.
• A corporation whose vision and mission may be compromised by vulnerabilities to their critical assets.
• An agency or corporation that has a person of such value that if he or she were kidnapped or attacked the agency or corporation would suffer serious setback.
• A gated community desiring an effective screening process for anyone who enters or an effective neighborhood response to an emergency. The physical location of documents or critical information that, if stolen or destroyed, would throw the organization into chaos.
• An institution that has a significant history of problem employees who have caused damage and as a result that institution may be interested in methods of effectively screening potential employees.
• An organization that, because of its geopolitical presence in the world or demographic location of its facility, desires basic safety measures at its location and safety awareness tactics for its employees.
• A corporation or agency that is exposed to a greater risk of violence due to present geopolitical circumstances, such as media outlets, churches, financial institutions, and major events involved in capitalism, free speech, or religion.
Religious organizations – wake up! There is a certain amount of irony in the theological stand many Faiths take on the sanctity of life, yet are unwilling to dedicate resources to protect their own congregations.
Churches, Temples and Synagogues: Seriously consider the realties of our current geopolitical circumstances and the world we live in. Please be proactive in your emergency planning.
Terry Hipp is a career veteran of the Criminal Justice System. He serves as the CEO and Sr. Director of Training & Education at Assault Prevention LLC.
For more than 25 years, Assault Prevention has helped individuals, groups, and organizations proactively plan for successful mitigation of unexpected violence and emergencies-and as a result, bring about a sense of control to their daily lives.
He may be contacted at:
AssaultPrevention.ORG
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