Oakwood and Danville Church Bombings

Lesson Learned from a Deadly-Force Attack

An article related to the Safety Member Certification training modules “Active Shooter Response” and “Safety Team Fundamentals,” and the Church Security Guide article “Church Safety Teams and Active Shooter Training.” [1.][2.][3.]

From the Bible –

O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps (Psalm 79:1).

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; ... (1 Corinthians 3:17).

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds (Proverbs 27:23).

Introduction –

When people think of deadly-force attacks on churches, the first thought is shootings. However, there are also stabbings, first-degree arson, and bombings. In 1997 and 1998, Vermillion County, Illinois, experienced two church bombings in a five-month period committed by one person.

The First Bomb, One Killed –

It was Tuesday, December 30, 1997. A few church members were meeting at the Oakwood United Methodist Church. They were working on a newsletter. One member, age 46, who was an official at a nearby state park, sensed a draft, so he went to close a door. Outside the door, he spotted a green picnic cooler. Naturally, he decided to check it out. When he started to pick it up, a trip wire triggered a pipe bomb. He was killed in the explosion. No other persons were injured.

The Second Bomb, Many Injured –

It was Memorial Day Weekend, 1998, five months after the deadly blast in Oakwood. During the Sunday morning worship service at the First Assembly of God in Danville, while the pastor was praying, a loud explosion tore a huge hole in the church’s metal siding. Inside, 33 people were injured. Most of them were youth, who were sitting in that section. One of the youths was spared because she was tending the nursery, and her vacant seat was the closest to the blast.

The Bomber –

The Vermillion County church bomber was an Army veteran, age 39. He was a paranoid schizophrenic who was prone to violent outbursts. When he was better, He got married, but it lasted only six months. He relapsed and his wife divorced him. He also had an arrest record, including auto theft. His erratic behavior kept neighbors on edge, and he found it difficult to get and keep a job.

The attacker did not leave written notes with statements or clues to his motives. Two clues that we do have are

1. His ex-wife was a member of the church in Oakwood.
2. He was denied membership in the Danville church.

Forensic examination of the bombs’ materials showed that the ones at both churches were identical. The bomber was identified as the purchaser of key ingredients, especially the insulated wire. Investigators set out to question him, but he was not at his address of record. They were told that he was living at his mother’s house.

When they went to the front door of his mother’s house, they heard an explosion in the garage. Going out there, they found his decapitated body with the body of his dog (a witness had seen the German shepherd with him outside the Oakwood church the night before the bombing). They had been killed by a pipe bomb. Also found was an unused pipe bomb identical to the ones used at the churches.

Afterward –

The man killed at Oakwood UMC was buried, and his widow finished raising the family. Repairs were made to the buildings. Membership in the two congregations remained stable. However, the church in Danville has endeavored to better minister to the mentally ill.

The church in Danville changed its name 20 years later from First Assembly of God to Hope United Church (they’re still in the denomination). The Oakwood church left the UMC denomination to become an unaffiliated congregation. Over the decades, wounds have healed, but there are still memories.

Lessons Learned –

The lessons learned from these bombings are

1. Be aware of persons of concern.
2. Conduct risk assessments.
3. Monitor the exterior.
4. Use caution with suspicious items.
5. Guard against suicide bombers.

Awareness of Persons of Concern,

Solomon said that we should “know the state of [our] flocks” (Prov.27:23). Those who attend a church should have enough trust in the leaders that they will share concerns with them.

The leaders in the Oakwood church should have known why the ex-wife had been married for such a short time. In that situation, her former husband would have been a person of concern. Considering that domestic discord and violence are the source of many violent incidents at churches, they should have been motivated to be aware of where he was and what he did.

It is assumed by several persons that behavioral problems resulting from the bomber’s schizophrenia were the reason he was denied membership in the Danville church. His tendency for violent reactions should have made him a person of concern. This would also have a ministry motive of helping him to deal with his situation. At the least, having some continuing contact would let them know his condition and yield clues that he was considering violence.

Conducting Risk Assessments,

For both churches, if the bomber was followed as a person of concern, they could have considered him in risk assessment. Evidently, neither congregation had a risk assessment team (in 1997 and 1998 that was a rarity). However, now churches are advised to conduct risk assessments. This may be formal (an established Risk Assessment Team) or informal (church leaders and safety ministry leaders confidentially communicating and evaluating risks). This subject was covered in a previous article, “Turning Over Stones.” [4.]

Monitor the Exterior,

Monitoring areas outside the church buildings should be done both in person and remotely.

In-person monitoring is by patrolling and by observation. The exterior of the church needs to be patrolled before classes and services as well as during activities. Take note of anything that seems out of place. In this case it would have been the cooler left outside a side exit in Oakville and the pipe bomb atop the air conditioning unit in Danville. Safety team members need to be observant as they walk around outside (such as on their way in from the parking lot) and to look out windows when inside. Also foster a culture of observation in the congregation so if church members see something suspicious they will report it to someone on the safety team.

The exterior can be monitored with well-placed surveillance cameras. The screens need to be monitored before and during services, classes, and events.

To guard against bombs and other planted hazards, motion detectors could send alerts to selected safety team members. At the least, they could post a time stamp of detected activity. A team member checking out the church before scheduled activities can check surveillance footage at the posted time stamps.

Suppose someone planted a bomb the night before. A safety team monitor checking the footage for the motion detector’s time stamp should see the person putting an object in place. In that case, a team member could check to see what it was. If the object was hidden, the footage would show the team member where to look.

Use Caution with Suspicious Items,

This is from the 2020 edition of the instructor’s manual for the Security Team Fundamentals training module:

Suspicious package: Don’t touch it! If you come across a suspicious package, piece of luggage, or backpack, don’t touch it. Leave it where it is and call 911. Be sure to train staff not to handle such a package either, but instead to call the Safety Team.

Suppose there is an out-of-place object in a spot indicated by the cameras. What happened to the church member who found the cooler outside the door of the Oakwood church? He moved it, and that triggered the pipe bomb.

If we see an unexpected cooler, and there is no reason for it, consider it suspicious. After all, who leaves a cooler just outside the side door of a church? Or places a package on top of the air conditioning unit? Or hides a package in brush by the side of the church? Leave it alone and call 911 to report a suspicious object which might be a bomb, or might be rigged to release a toxic material if opened – either way it’s bad. For suspicious packages, boxes, etc., call 9-1-1.

Caution with suspicious objects also applies to vehicles on the street in front, in the parking lot, in the alley, etc. Some activists use car bombs. If someone parks a vehicle then leaves, it may be a bomb. This is even more suspicious if it is not in a regular parking space.

Read the Guest Article by Terry Berringer, “Church Security: Lessons Learned from Suspicious Package.” At his church a suspicious box was found. The city’s bomb squad came in response to a 911 call. The contents turned out to be safe, but the police said calling them was the right thing to do. [5.]

Suicide Bomber,

Don’t rule out suicide bombers. Not all of them are in other countries. They may be terrorist activists, but also could be mentally ill persons. Watching people entering the church includes being alert to indications of a potential explosive device. Body-borne bombs are bulky, especially those intended to do the most damage. That suspicious bulge in clothing could be a bomb instead of a firearm.

Also, you may do bag checks, as advised by Terry Berringer in “Today we will Dig into Bag Searches.” [6,]

Training Notes –

First, have all Safety Team members trained and certified through Sheepdog Church Security’s training program Safety Member Certification.

There are other training measures for preventing a church bombing:

• Train greeters to watch for signs of bombs and other suspicious items.
• Educate the congregation to be aware of suspicious items in and around the church: See something, say something.
• Conduct drills in
• monitoring security cameras,
• checking camera footage before events,
• spotting indications of explosive devices on persons,
• conducting bag checks, and
• watching for suspicious items while patrolling.
• Role-play potential bombers planting devices or bringing them into the church. Two goals of this are
• learning to spot dangerous behavior and material, and
• learning how to safely respond (especially de-escalation).

Conclusion –

Be alert for potential bombs and bombers. Be ready to call 911 for suspicious items.

References –

Sheepdog Church Security Resources

1. Kris Moloney, “Active Shooter Response,” Safety Member Certification, Sheepdog Church Security, © 2020 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/bundles/safety-member-certification].
2. Kris Moloney, Church Security Guide, Sheepdog Church Security, 2018-2023 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/pages/security-articles?c=church-security-guide].
3. Kris Moloney, “Church Safety Teams and Active Shooter Training,” Church Security Guide, Sheepdog Church Security, © Copyright 2018 [https://sheepdogchurchsecurity.net/active-shooter].
4. WGV, “Turning Over Stones,” Sheepdog Church Security, September 2, 2024 [https://sheepdogchurchsecurity.net/articles/turning-over-stones/] and [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/pages/security-articles?p=turning-over-stones].
5. Terry Berringer, “Church Security: Lessons Learned from Suspicious Package,” Guest Articles, The Sheepdog Sentinel, May 2, 2024 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/pages/security-articles?p=church-security-lessons-learned-from-suspicious-package].
6. Terry Berringer, “Today we will Dig into Bag Searches,” Guest Articles, The Sheepdog Sentinel, January 30, 2024 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/pages/security-articles?p=today-we-will-dig-into-bag-searches].

News Accounts

1. “Vermilion County, Illinois bombings,” Wikipedia, This page was last edited on 1 June 2025 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion_County,_Illinois_bombings].
2. Michael Jordan (Reenactment Director), “Vermillion County Church Bombings,” Forensic Files, CNN, July 7, 2014 [https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20140707_080000_Forensic_Files].
3. From Associated Press, “Bomb Caused Church Blast, Authorities Say,” L.A. Times Archives, May 26, 1998 [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-may-26-mn-53553-story.html].
4. By CBSNews.com staff, Jim Axelrod, “Church Blast Caused By Bomb,” CBS News, May 25, 1998 [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/church-blast-caused-by-bomb/].
5. Rebecca Reisner, “Richard Dean White’s Explosive Crimes | A Mentally Ill Man Terrorizes Churches,” Forensic Files, July 31, 2020 [https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/2020/07/31/richard-dean-whites-explosive-crimes/].
6. Graeme Zielinski and T. Shawn Taylor, “Figure in Blast Had Prior Troubles,” Chicago Tribune, Updated August 11, 2021 [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/05/30/figure-in-blast-had-prior-troubles/].
7. Jamal Williams, “Danville church changes name ahead of bombing anniversary,” WCIA, April 24, 2023, Updated April 25, 2023 [https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/danville-church-changes-name-ahead-of-bombing-anniversary/].
8. Pam G. Dempsey “After bomb blast 10 years ago, Danville church moving on,” News-Gazette, May 24, 2008 Updated Sep 21, 2021[https://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/after-bomb-blast-10-years-ago-danville-church-moving-on/article_12241cb9-0b82-532f-9741-719abdce64fe.html].