Churches want to be ready if gunmen attack

Sometimes prayer is not enough.

Recent attacks nationally on churches have prompted congregations throughout South Florida to ask police for training on what to do if confronted with an armed intruder.

“Times have changed. You never thought you would need to take these proactive mea- sures for a church, but given what has happened lately, you have to be vigilant to protect parishioners,” said Laterrance Chatman, security minister for the Hope Church of Christ on State Road 7 in Hollywood.

He and approximately 150 other people attended a training session last week at Calvary Fellowship in Miramar. Chatman also attended another training session given by the Hollywood Police Department.

After nine church members were killed in 2015 by a gunman in Charlestown, S.C., many houses of worship began asking police what they could do to protect their congregations. The requests increased again last month after 26 people were killed in a small church in Texas.

The focus of the training is preparation, vigilance and a strategy called “run-hide-fight,” said Miramar Police Officer Mauricio Arbelaez, who led the training at Calvary Fellowship.

The immediate thing to do if confronted is to evacuate, but if that isn’t possible, seek a place to hide that would provide a barrier against gunfire if possible, he said. The last resort is to fight.

“If all else fails, fight, and commit to your actions. It will be a fight for your life and to