This church security related article appeared in the Grand Forks Herald and was written by David Roepke.

Wheaton, MN-An argument over a used washer and dryer led to the death of a 14-month-old girl after she was hit in the head with a baseball bat during a church service in Wheaton, Minn., pastor said Friday.

Shortly before 7 p.m. on Thursday, Wheaton police responded to a report of an altercation at Thy King-dom Come Church, where the Rev. Danny Barnes said two men confronted the father of the girl who died.

Police believe that David Eric Collins interrupted a prayer service and tried to hit the father with a base-ball bat, according to a Traverse County Sheriff’s Office news release.

During the alleged attack on the father, whom police identified as Claude Hawkins, Hawkins’ 14-month-old daughter was struck in the head with the bat. Police said Hawkins defended himself with a chair.

The toddler was taken to Wheaton Community Hos-pital and later to MeritCare in Fargo, where she died about 2 a.m. Friday, Barnes said.

The pastor, who was not at the church at the time, said the argument was over a used washer and dryer that had been donated to the Hawkins family. Collins thought he was in line for the appliances, Barnes said.

“There’s a baby dead, and we’re talking about a washer and dryer,” he said. “I think a baby lost a life, and there’s no reason to it.”

Hawkins declined to talk about his daughter’s death. In an e-mail sending a photo of the girl from an account belonging to Barnes’ wife, Dena Barnes, the toddler was named as Aundrea Brownlow. Also, Hawkins identified his surname as Hankins.

Thy Kingdom Come Church was founded by Barnes, who has described himself as a former career criminal now reformed. The nondenominational ministry is designed to reach out and rehabilitate marginalized populations, such as substance abusers and the homeless.

Authorities stated in news releases Friday that the investigation is ongo-ing and that an autopsy will be done by the medical examiner in Ramsey County. The results of that autopsy weren’t available Friday.

In addition to Collins, 50, police arrested 43-year-old Darryl Glenn Kennedy. Police stated in a news release that they believe Kennedy arrived at the church at 305 5th St. N. in Wheaton shortly after the attack on Hawkins and was armed with a wooden 2-by-4 board.

Barnes said Kennedy was a friend of Collins.

Both suspects were held at the Traverse County Jail in Wheaton. A news release from the county sheriff’s office stated the men were suspected of second-degree assault but charges haven’t been filed. The Sheriff’s Department didn’t release mug photos, and Wheaton Police Chief Michael Jo-hannsen did not take phone calls on Friday afternoon.

Authorities also said they wouldn’t release the identity of the girl until all family members are notified.

Barnes said he doesn’t believe the girl was struck with the bat on purpose.

“I don’t think anybody’s thinking that,” he said. “But I also don’t think he had any regard at all. He (Collins) had been drinking, and he didn’t care whether there was a baby in the room or not a baby in the room. He felt like he had been offended and was inappropriate in his response.”

Barnes said he gave the washer and dryer to the Hawkins family because they had four children, while Collins’ family has none. He said the Hawkins family recently moved into a home.

Barnes said Collins came to Wheaton from the Dorothy Day Center, a homeless shelter in St. Paul. Collins was in Thy Kingdom Come’s transitional hous-ing program and was not being treated for alcoholism, he said.

Glen’s Thoughts:
This is a tragic, senseless death of a precious little baby girl. We often urge our members to begin the process of subject control with verbal skills, but there are times when immediate defensive action is justified and reasonable.

The suspect entered into a church during a prayer service, armed with a large piece of wood, and was attacking a church member with deadly force. The man being assaulted defended himself with a chair. However, this man’s rampage with a deadly weapon struck a defenseless baby and she was killed.

Prepare for the worst, pray it never happens, but be ready to quickly and reasonably intervene to save lives.

Church Security Incident-Three men burst into two seperate churches this past Sunday yelling, “God is dead!” The incident caused a disruption and they were escorted out by church members.

It was a situation that caused fear for church members.

Shreveport Police say the man first ran into the Heritage Baptist Church at Kirby Street and Creswell Avenue, yelling ‘God is dead,’ and a few other things, before getting escorted out.

“I thought it was humorous in the sense that if there’s no God why spend so much of your time trying to disprove that which doesn’t exist,” said Heritage Baptist Church Pastor Earl Blackburn.

The suspects repeated the offense again just a mile away at First Baptist Church of Shreveport.

“It was right in the middle of service. He just came in and started screaming about God isn’t real and it’s all fake, it’s all a lie,” said church member Michael Morales.

“It was just very disturbing,” said Morales wife, Elizabeth.

Morales says he and several other men watched the man go outside and get into a pick-up truck with two others passengers.

“A couple of guys called the cops as soon as he walked out and we gave them a great description of the guys and of their truck and we got their license plate number,” said Morales.

This is a church security incident that could have escalated very quickly. Notice the church members were able to keep their wits, and reportd a great description, which led to the suspects being apprehended.

Due to the descriptions, police quickly found the truck and charged the driver with DWI. They believe he had just dropped off the other two men at Highland Park, where the men were eventually arrested.

A police spokesman stated, “I just checked with detectives in major crimes and we’re going to try to book them in under a hate crime. This could have gotten out of hand quick.”

A fired church janitor is facing a burglary charge after employees of Main Street United Methodist Church found him inside an office, allegedly rummaging through a desk.

The suspect, Victor T. Branch, 45, of the 2500 block of College Avenue, is in custody with bond of $50,000.

He is not being charged with theft of any items that workers at the church, 1400 Main St., discovered missing last weekend.

An Alton Police Department report says a church employee discovered $300 missing from an office storage room at noon Sunday.

The next day, an employee noticed that a black, Latitude brand E6500 laptop computer worth $1,120 and a silver-colored Nikon digital camera were missing from one office. Some $25 to $28 in currency was gone from a cash box in another office.

The report says there was no sign of forced entry to the church, leading the workers to suspect either a visitor or employee stole the items.

Because of the recent thefts, at 8:05 a.m. Tuesday, an employee asked police to check the building before workers went inside, to ensure their safety. A secretary found a drawer to her desk had been rummaged through, and $1 and keys were missing; another desk drawer was found forced open, and $200 and checks for an upcoming golf tournament had been stolen.

At that time, an employee allegedly saw Branch rummaging through a desk drawer in another office, saying he was looking for a key, the report says. The employee, though, told police that Branch – who church workers suspected of the thefts – had been terminated Monday and was not allowed on church property.

The report says the burglar apparently broke a window in a door to gain entrance to the church on Tuesday.

Here is a recent email from one of our CSA Members who needed some information and a recommendation on selecting radios for the church security team. They are currently using Family Radio Service units but have found that they need a better, clearer mans of communicating for their facility.

Jack and Glen

Praise God for your ministry. What walkie talkies do you recommend? We are starting a security team and use cheap Talkabouts as an usher staff and parking lot team. We are considering getting UHF Motorola CLS1110 radios for security team however we will not be able to communicate with usher team or parking teams if we do. I understand UHF is much better indoors we will have 5 guys on duty during Sunday service and we feel communication is key between us, so spending 130 .00 per unit for upgraded talkies would be worth it

Your thoughts and experience would be appreciated. Read More…

Why Churches Should Pay Attention to the Recent Shootings

The three recent high profile shootings illustrate a growing need for churches to assess their security strengths and weaknesses. The shooting of a high profile abortion doctor, the shooting of an army recruiter, and the attack at the National Holocaust Museum have one thing in common, namely, the physical manifestation of violence to substantiate an ideological belief.

In a world where the individual is celebrated, where the individual feels entitled, and where the individual has a message that must be heard, the individual seeking attention for his cause and to deliver shock, will strike a target that justifies his message and causes scrutiny by the media.

Today, it is as if anything is justifiable, as long as a person has a reason-any reason- to do it. The common thread in each attack is hatred of an ideology, hatred of a country, and hatred of a people. It does not matter where the violence will occur, as long as it is shocking and deemed newsworthy, the offender will act. The days where the church was deemed off limits and sacred by the most violent in our society, has become allowable.

Nothing is sacred. There are no violence free zones. Life has become cheap to those seeking to deliver a message.

In an attempt to make sense of it all, society immediately brands these types of offenders as extremists, terrorists, or as insane, and indeed, they may be. However, the fact remains, they choose to attack those they hate or those who view life differently than they do, and they are not afraid to attack wherever the are found.

Daily we have access to information where Christians are attacked, assaulted and killed. Attacks happen in villages, in village churches, and in the streets. Each attack has a different motive, but the end result is the same. People are robbed of their lives because of a belief system they have chosen.

Human beings like to believe bad things happen in other places or to larger organizations. Church leaders usually examine each incident and make a determination whether we believe that violence can visit our church. Do we have any abortion providers who attend our church?  The answer is probably not, so we don’t think we need to increase security. Are there any Jewish people in our church?  No, they attend a synagogue, so the news story doesn’t have an affect.  Will a madman enter our church and begin shooting our people?  We might respond by thinking that it only happens at mega-churches or churches in dangerous areas.

Many times we answer each question in the negative. We cannot convince ourselves that evil may visit our place of worship. We say, as do many others, that it cannot happen here.

The lesson of the last three shootings in only 9 days is that violence can and does happen anywhere and at anytime.  Where people exist that have a grudge, a need to act out, and do not mind taking innocent life, there is a possibility it can happen anywhere.  They are calculating enough to find a place where they may strike without resistance, and where the casualty rate might be the highest. 

Church security team members should be trained in Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). There is a greater likelihood a church member or visitor will suffer and die from a heart attack or stroke than from being assaulted or robbed.

However, the dirty little secret with CPR is that using it alone has little chance of saving a life. This doesn’t negate the use for CPR. Quick response with CPR by a team member can increase the chance of survival and can increase a patient’s chances when advanced medical support arrives. Whether a cardiac event is witnessed or not witnessed will determine when to begin CPR and when to apply an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

The Automated External Defibrillator is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electrical therapy which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm. When used in tandem with CPR, it gives the person suffering a potentially fatal heart attack a fighting chance.

The AED is a very simple device to use, and AED training is usually given when a team member is certified in CPR. In the video below, Glen talks about the AED and demonstrates how easy it is to use.

A church medical response plan should be implemented within a church security and safety policy, and team members, childcare workers, and anyone else wanting to receive training should be certified. Calling your local fire department or American Heart Association is a great place to start when seeking basic CPR training.

Church Security and Concealed/Covert Carry

The following article was written by SMince2 who posts regularly in the forum.  I encountered Scott several years before Glen and I started this site. At that time I provided some basic information and an ear to bounce thoughts off of. He has established a very strong team in his home church and has had to deal with the need to keep the CCW issue very low profile. Scott has also attended several training sessions to enhance his firearms ability and training level.

Jack

Overview

Generally, there are two accepted methods for carrying firearms: concealed carry (CCW) and open carry (OCW). There are a few states that recognize open carry. Arizona comes to mind. Most states require concealed carry, if carry is even permitted.

Read More…

Church Security Gear-Having the right gear can make all the difference.  One of our objectives as church security is to make it seem that we don’t have security. The easiest way to accomplish this is to keep your tools concealed, so nobody sees the them.

Having handcuffs available for a violent encounter is a good idea.  Having the ability to handcuff someone decreases the likelihood of hurting somone unnecessarily when a bunch of people pile on the suspect to hold him down.  Handcuffs allow you to utilize control of the suspect with pain compliance technques if necessary.

The hidden handcuff holder is a great little device that allows you to conceal your handcuffs in your waistband, while being able to quickly and efficiently deploy them should you need them.  In this video, Jack discusses how to use the hidden handcuff holder, and demonstrates how easy it is to use. He then discusses when church security personnel should use handcuffs.  Church Security Alliance is offering the Hidden Handcuff Holder and a set of Smith and Wesson chain handcuffs for $49.00.