80 Churches turn out for active shooter training at City Services Center

If someone shows up at your church with a baseball bat, knife or gun, you have the right to defend yourself before a felony is committed, law enforcement officials said during a Church Safety and Responding to Active Shooters Training at the City Services Center.

At least 80 area churches and more than 175 members from diverse congregations filled the council chambers Wednesday for training presented by Crime Prevention Unit of the Columbus Police Department. The event was aimed at pointing churches in the same direction if a person starts firing a gun in their place of worship.

Chief Deputy Assistant District Attorney Alonza Whitaker told the crowd that you don’t have to wait until a felony is committed against you to use force if you have reasonable belief based on the conduct of that person. “You can stop a forcible felony,” Whitaker said.

Police Lt. Tim Wynn spends most of his day training new officers at the department. When he’s not working, he serves on the security staff at Cascades Hills Church.

An active shooter is one of more persons engaged in killing or attempting to kill multiple people in an area occupied by multiple people. Four deaths are required to call an event an active shooter.

“Christians are being attacked right now,” Wynn said.

In most of the shooting incidents, records show the shooter has a connection with people in 55 percent of cases while 45 percent are random, such as the October concert massacre in Las Vegas where 59 people died. Thirty-two people were killed in the April 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.

If a person starts shooting in a sanctuary, Wynn said there will be many victims if members of security team can’t stop the threat. Training is required for churches to execute their safety plan.

“If somebody gets through the doors, the first time a shot rang out, total mayhem is starting to break out,” Wynn said of difficulty in confronting a shooter with people running. “I would have a very hard time if I had to duck . Everybody stands up and starts moving, I got friendlies in the way. Be mindful when you set your security team. If they start shooting, mayhem is going to break out.”

With training, members of the congregation should hit the floor so only the shooter will be left standing, possibly giving security members an opportunity to stop the threat. If everyone stands up and starts running, they likely will be victims of the shooter and prevent security personnel from reacting. “You have to do some training,” he said.

If a person is shooting inside a part of the building, you need to get away if you can. “Always think of what to do if this happens,” Wynn said.

During such a stressful event, Wynn said always know your surroundings and leave as soon as possible. If you know the description of a suspect, call 911 and give information to police.

If you are caught in a shooting environment, lock the door to the room, cut out the lights and get out of sight. If you are playing dead in plain view, you may get shot again, Wynn said.

When police arrive on the scene, show your palms to the officers and don’t make any erratic movements. Residents shouldn’t think a shooting incident can’t happen where you live. The shooting at Doctors Hospital in Columbus was an active shooter but wasn’t listed that way because only three people died.

“We know this can happen in our country at the blink of an eye,” Wynn said.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 10:49 PM with the headline "80 Churches turn out for active shooter training at City Services Center."