Burke County Sheriff’s Office offers active shooter class for churches
WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Parades, grocery stores, schools, and even churches. It’s hard to think of a public place untouched by an active shooter.
School officials spend some time each year making sure faculty and students are ready for an emergency with active shooter drills, but what if there’s one inside your church?
The FBI reports a 61 percent increase in active shooter cases from 2017 to 2021. That number continues to rise.
The Department of Justice says hate crimes based on religion in Georgia spiked 650 percent from 2018 to 2020. We checked with local churches to see how they are responding.
Nearly seven years ago, an active shooter opened fire, killing nine people in a Charleston church.
After a request for extra protection during an evening revival service and recent active shooter cases in schools, Thompson Bridge Baptist Church decided they needed more protection.
“If you look at what’s going on in the news throughout the United States and abroad, we all need to be protecting ourselves,” said Deacon Herman Brown.
Church leaders say the way to protect is by learning from those who protect our community.
Sgt. Nathan Jones, training division at Burke County Sheriff’s Office said: “I tried to convey to the church anybody, not just law enforcement, can affect the outcome of an active shooter situation.”
Homeland Security says active shooters are unpredictable, and training goes a long way.
After a meeting with the pastor, Brown decided the security system could not be their only form of protection.
“We decided we might need to do active shooter training here and find out where some of our weak spots are in the church,” said Brown.
During the class, deacon leaders learned how to run, hide, and fight.
“After the class was over, we did a question and answer, and then we came to the sanctuary to go over some scenarios in the church and blind spots that we might need to look at and try to improve in the church,” he said.
Law enforcement says these classes are important because they make people think.
Jones said: “We try to have them mentally prepare themselves for what they need to do in an event if it happens in your area, or at your place of business or at your church or at your school.”
He says mental preparedness makes a difference in the outcome.
“An event like that, seconds do matter,” he said.
Burke County Sheriff’s Office says they will continue to offer this training class to any religious organization that wants it.
Copyright 2022 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
