SAFETY IN PLACES OF WORSHIP
Sutherland Springs shooting prompts interest in active-shooter training programs
Religious leaders in Houston are taking a more critical look at security, just one month after a man killed 26 men, women and children at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.
Precinct 1 Harris County Constable Alan Rosen hosted a second active-shooter training session Thursday. The first session was Nov. 8, just three days after 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley committed the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history.
More than 100 leaders from mosques, temples and various Christian denominations attended the November training session, Rosen said. About 70 religious leaders came to Thursday’s event.
“We had to turn away people in our first meeting,” Rosen said. “We’ll do as many trainings as are necessary to keep these places of worship safe.” The crux of the training is providing guidance on preparing emergency plans, especially for smaller places of worship unable to afford police officers, Rosen added. One of the churches at the November training was Yale Street Baptist, which is formulating its own plan. Once that is completed, the church
will have the constable’s office organize an activeshooter role-play exercise, Rosen said.
One guideline deals with the importance of religious leaders identifying new visitors at religious services and asking them to sit where security personnel are aware, Rosen said.
For many houses of worship in Houston, security has always been a priority, regardless of the cost. Sagemont Church invests roughly $350,000 a year on security measures, which include numerous surveillance cameras.
Following Sutherland Springs, Sagemont added eight more police officers on Sundays, when more than 6,000 worshipers descend on its Sam Houston Parkway location, executive pastor Chuck Schneider said.
One of the most visible security additions following the massacre was a police car parked near the entrance of the church, Schneider said.
“It’s a crazy world,” Schneider said. “We take security very seriously.”
At places of worship with congregations averaging 50 to 1,500 people, security has a different look.
Village Heights Church, 311 W. 18th, which welcomes roughly 60 visitors, does not have any officers or security on Sunday and allows its parishioners to conceal carry, said lead pastor Bill White.
CORE Church Midtown at 2404 Austin has a similar number of visitors on Sunday. Church members help handle security, said pastor Jim Stern.
“We cut our teeth in the Midtown area,” Stern said. “You have to be aware of your surroundings.”