Under Attack

Responding to an Active Killer

This article is based on the Safety Member Certification training module “Active Shooter Response.”[1]

From the Bible

They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause (Psalm 109:3).

Introduction

When we have taken all the precautions we could, yet still have an active killer (someone intent on killing people) begin an attack, what should our response be? First, we need the mentality of, "It can happen anyway," and prepare for an attack just in case. On the national scale, this was the rationale for nuclear deterrence: If our adversary attacks with nuclear weapons, we have a response.

What are the goals of our response to an active killer? While the nuclear goal was M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction), making an attack unthinkable, our goal in church security is to end the attack quickly with as few casualties as possible.

In the News

These active killer incidents are selected for the kinds of responses they had.

Nashville, Tennessee, March 27, 2023 - At 9:53 am, a 28-year-old woman drove her vehicle into the parking lot of Covenant School (which she had attended as a child). Minutes later, she exited the vehicle with two firearms, a rifle and a handgun.

At 10:11, she went to the glass side door, which was locked. No problem for her. She fired a shot and it shattered enough for her to walk in. A janitor saw her and tried to flee, only to be fatally shot. As the shooter passed his body, she shot him in the head, then went to the second floor. The gunsmoke set off a fire alarm, and teachers began to evacuate classes. The shooter killed three 9-year-old students and a teacher's assistant.

At 10:13, responding to a 911 call, police were dispatched to the school.

The shooter went back down to the first floor. The unsuspecting head mistress came out of the office to see what the commotion was and was killed.

The shooter went back to the second floor and entered the balcony of the church, where she shot at a stained glass window, then went back into the school hallway. At 10:21, she spotted police arriving outside and fired at them through a window.

At 10:23, police used an emergency responder key to enter the front door of the school. Going up the stairs, they encountered the shooter. She was killed in a gunfight.[2][3]

Houston, Texas, February 11, 2024 - On a Sunday morning a mentally ill woman parked her van in front of the disabled persons entrance of Lakewood Church. With an AR-15 in her trench coat and her 7-year-old son by the hand she went in. This entrance did not have a bag check, such as at the main entrance. The unarmed security guard at the door let her in, even though he reportedly saw the rifle.

Inside, the woman began firing her rifle, not really aiming at any one person. A man was wounded in his leg.

Two off-duty law enforcement officers on security at the church responded to the sound of gunfire, moving from cover-to-cover down the hall while people fled the other way. At the scene, they engaged the shooter. She was killed and her son was seriously wounded.

Following the shooting, the church considered installing metal detectors and having bag checks at each entrance.[4][5]

White Settlement, Texas, December 29, 2019 - A vagrant man who sometimes frequented West Freeway Church of Christ and had been given food at times, came into the morning service on the last Sunday of 2019. He wore a fake beard, a wig, and a trench coat. His appearance and manner caught the attention of the security team, who kept a watch on him.

Early in the service, he left the church and re-entered, sitting down near the back, not far from an armed security team member.

During communion, the man stood up, went to a deacon serving communion, said something, turned away, pulled a shotgun from his coat, and turned back. The security team member was starting to pull his pistol from its holster when the man shot him, then shot the deacon. The security team leader halfway around the curved back had his gun out, positioned to fire, waiting for a clear shot. Six seconds after the man had pulled out his shotgun, the team leader (who was a firearms instructor) shot him in the head, ending the rampage.[6]

Since the service was livestreamed, the entire incident was captured on video.[7]

Laguna Woods, California, May 15, 2022 - The Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church met at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods. On this Sunday, they had a special speaker, a former pastor and missionary who had just returned from Taiwan. There was also an uninvited guest, another Taiwanese American who had driven in from Las Vegas. During the service he sat in the back apparently reading a newspaper.

After the service, everyone headed for a meeting room for dinner. What they did not know was that the man from Las Vegas had chained exit doors and jammed latches on other doors. He had also planted incendiaries.

During the meal, the man stood up, pulled out a gun, and began firing. One man, a doctor, rushed him and was shot. The missionary speaker threw a book at the shooter, knocking the gun loose. Others piled on, pinning the shooter. Someone grabbed an electrical cord, and they tied him up to wait for the police. The doctor died and five other people were injured.[8]

Looking at the Responses

We may learn something from the four responses to active killers in the cited incidents above.

Covenant School. There was no effective response by those in the school - only by the police, who arrived eight minutes after 911 was called, ten after the shooter shot the glass door. Persons in the school were blindsided. The reason we have a timeline of the shooting and know how it unfolded is that it was recorded by security cameras inside and outside the school and the church. Apparently the cameras were not being monitored in real time.

It was the noise of a gunshot and breaking glass that alerted the janitor who went to see what happened. When he saw the shooter, he did not take cover, but ran and was shot in the back. Everyone else also did not know what was going on. If the janitor had a radio and warned the office, the school could have gone into a lockdown. The same would be if a security person (there were none) monitoring the cameras had seen her parking, watched her, and saw her approaching with a gun. Then 911 would have been called two minutes earlier.

Lakewood Church. As with Covenant School, the entire incident was caught on camera. There was no bag check at the entrance the shooter used. Since the assailant had been there before, she knew that. If the guard saw the gun, why was she let in? Why was the team not radioed?

The two law enforcement officers did act properly, advancing toward the gunfire under cover, but this was after the attacker had already come in.

West Freeway. The security team did watch a suspicious person and acted when he pulled out his shotgun. One team member was too close to have time to pull his gun out and aim. The team leader pulled his gun out and stood ready for a clear shot. The main question is why the man wasn't met and engaged in conversation when he came in wearing an obvious disguise. Verbal de-escalation would have then been an option. If that failed, he could have been kept out of the sanctuary while police came.

Taiwanese Presbyterian. There was no security presence, so no one took notice of warning signs or checked for things out of place, such as a box with ammo and a gun and chains on a door. However, when the shooting began, the people swarmed the attacker.

Planning to Respond

We need to think out how we can respond to an active killer.

This begins with knowing when a threatening person is there.

• Cameras need to be not only installed, but monitored.
• Doors and windows need to have alarms.
• Lock protocols should have unattended doors locked.
• Greeters are trained to watch for suspicious persons.[9]
• Bag checks are recommended.[10]

Then plan how to handle a suspicious person.

• If weapons are suspected, use conversational awareness.
• Greet and converse with the person to determine whether he is a threat.
• If necessary, use verbal de-escalation.
• Have backup present and ready.
• Be ready to use self-defense, beginning with unarmed moves - in close quarters there's little or no time to draw a weapon.

If aggressive action begins outside, enact a lockout, call for a lockdown, and call 911.

• Keep watch.
• Be ready to engage the killer if he comes to the door.

If violence starts inside, begin defense and call for a lockdown.

• If you're too close to pull a weapon, use unarmed defense.
• Call 911.

Training for an Active Killer

Team members are trained in engagement and containment:

• Containment is blocking the way to populated areas.
• Armed members are ready to shoot from cover.
• Obstacles, such as tables, chairs, or big boxes, can be placed in the way to slow the killer.
• Engagement is tracking and neutralizing the threat.
• Know where the killer is.
• Force him into a fatal funnel (a place where he cannot move).

Congregants are trained in Run-Hide-Fight.[11]

• Run - Get out of there, evacuate if you can.
• Hide - Seek concealment and/or cover. Lock down if you can.
• Fight - If the killer is where you are, resist, distract, throw things, swarm him.

After the Killer is Stopped

When the killer has been stopped - dead or alive - return your firearms to their holsters (you do not want police mistaking you for the killer). If he's alive, restrain him, preferably handcuff him or tie him up.

Treat the wounded. Begin with the most critical injuries.

When the police arrive, they are in charge. Lockdowns remain in place until police say it is all clear. They will first search for bombs or other killers.

Have each safety team member fill out an incident report including their response. All together these will aid the police investigation. Keep copies for your internal analysis of the response - there's always something to learn.

If the incident occurred while the congregation was present, congregants will need comfort and counseling, especially those most traumatized. If it was during office hours, the staff needs support.

Conclusion

A well-planned, team-trained, and practiced active killer response is like insurance: it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Training

Besides the training module "Active Shooter Response," another resource for learning about responding to an active killer is the Church Security Guide article "Church Safety Teams and Active Shooter Training."[12]

A number of Sheepdog Church Security training products are available on the training site, including:

• Safety Response Team Procedures and Guidelines - All States.
• This digital download provides comprehensive, editable protocols for houses of worship.
• Safety Member Certification 2024.
• Eight training modules cover eight facets of church safety & security.
• Safety Director Toolkit.
• This comprehensive year-long resource for securing the well-being of your congregation combines Interactive Online Workshops, Drill and Scenario Training, Community Engagement and Support, and more.
• Individual training modules available for class auditing.
• Also included are group coupons for 5, 10, and 20 students.[13]

References

1. Kris Moloney, "Active Shooter Response," Safety Member Certification, Sheepdog Church Security, © 2020 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/bundles/safety-member-certification].
2. Ivan Pereira, Alexandra Faul, Lucien Bruggeman, Josh Margolin, and Stephanie Wash, "Nashville shooting timeline: How the massacre unfolded at the Covenant School," ABC News, March 29, 2023 [https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-shooting-covenant-school-unfolded/story?id=98158185].
3. AP News writer, "What we know about the Covenant school shooting in Nashville," AP News, March 28, 2023 [https://apnews.com/article/covenant-nashville-school-shooting-what-to-know-c46251973f815a3862312d6131cd552e].
4. John Wayne Ferguson, "New details emerge in Lakewood Church shooting, off-duty officers hailed as heroes," Houston Chronicle, shared on Microsoft News (MSN), February 12, 2024 [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/new-details-emerge-in-lakewood-church-shooting-off-duty-officers-hailed-as-heroes/ar-BB1ib2K3].
5. Claire Hao, "Lakewood Church considers security boosts, including metal detectors, after deadly shooting," Houston Chronicle, shared on Microsoft News (MSN), February 12, 2024 [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lakewood-church-considers-security-boosts-including-metal-detectors-after-deadly-shooting/ar-BB1ibvDz].
6. Jasmine Aguilera, Amy Gunia and Tara Law, "Parishioner Who Volunteered for Texas Church's Security Team Killed Gunman in Shooting. Here's What to Know," Time, December 29, 2019, Updated: December 30, 2019 [https://time.com/5756485/white-settlement-church-texas-shooting/].
7. Newscaster Victory Park, "Shooting captured during live stream of White Settlement Church service," WFAA on YouTube, December 29, 2019 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiyU3XSN9eE].
8. Staff and wire reports, "Laguna Woods Church Shooting Leaves 1 Dead, 5 Hurt," NBC 4, Los Angeles, Published May 15, 2022, Updated May 16, 2022 [https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/multiple-people-hit-in-shooting-at-laguna-woods-church-suspected-shooter-in-custody/2893860/?os=vbKn42TQHonRIPebn6&ref=app].
9. Terry Berringer, "The First Line: Greeters Enhancing Church Security," Sheepdog Articles, Guest Articles, Sheepdog Church Security, May 1, 2024 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/pages/security-articles?p=the-first-line-greeters-enhancing-church-security].
10. Terry Berringer, "Today we will Dig into Bag Searches," Sheepdog Articles, Guest Articles, Sheepdog Church Security, January 30, 2024 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/pages/security-articles?p=today-we-will-dig-into-bag-searches].
11. Ready Houston, "Run, Hide, Fight," Office of Emergency Management, City of Houston, May 30, 2017 [https://youtu.be/VYWQxwm0sSM].
12. Kris Moloney, "Church Safety Teams and Active Shooter Training," Church Security Guide, Sheepdog Church Security, © Copyright 2018 [https://sheepdogchurchsecurity.net/active-shooter]; also as "Church Safety: Active Killer Response Strategies" on the training site, posted June 9, 2023 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/pages/security-articles?p=church-safety-active-killer-response-strategies].
13. Products, Sheepdog Church Security [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/collections].