LOUISVILLE, Ky, (WDRB and WXIN) -- Some Indiana churches have begun setting up armed security teams since a state law took effect in July that allows the carrying of guns in houses of worship.
Such laws are in the headlines again because on Sunday in a church in Texas, 71-year-old firearms instructor and former reserve sheriff’s deputy Jack Wilson killed an armed assailant with a single shot. Wilson served as a security volunteer at the church.
The situation also is reminiscent of an incident at a Jeffersontown Kroger in 2018. Police said a gunman had tried to enter First Baptist Church of Jeffersontown before he shot and killed two people at the grocery store.
The assailant in the Texas church had used a shotgun to kill the other security volunteer, Richard White, 67, and a communion server, Anton “Tony” Wallace, 64, sending more than 200 congregants scrambling for cover.
Wilson said the church members “were jumping, going chaotic,” which initially prevented him from having a clear shot.
“They were standing up. I had to wait about half a second, or a second, to get my shot,” he said. “I fired one round. The subject went down.”
It was the latest in a spate of attacks on houses of worship or worshippers. Just this Sunday, a knife-wielding man stormed into a rabbi’s home and stabbed five people as they celebrated Hanukkah in an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City.
Indiana state Sen. Jack Sandlin, R-Indianapolis, said that without the presence of armed guards, the death toll in the Texas shooting would have been much worse, according to a story by WXIN in Indianapolis.
Sandlin and other gun rights advocates said those kinds of situations encouraged the Indiana legislature this year to pass a law that allows the carrying of guns in houses of worship.
Sandlin authored the bill. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law in April. It took effect July 1. The law also allows people to carry guns into church even if there’s a school or daycare on the property. Before the law, such an action would have been a felony.
Sandlin said the law is already prompting churches to increase security.
“I’ve had conversations with several different churches that have started to set up security teams within their churches as a result of the passage of the statute,” he said.
While some churches are moving forward with security plans, they also are being very deliberate.
Jack Dodd, who attends a small church near Kokomo, said he and his pastor recently went to an active shooter training. While the church has plans to set up a security team, it does not yet have one in place.
“We have two individuals, myself and another individual, that sit in the back of the church always in the same spot, very near the door so that we can challenge anybody who walks in,” Dodd said.
Dodd has a background in law enforcement and says he has plenty of experience handling firearms, but he said he still has not decided to bring his gun to church.
“We are a small country church, and we have talked about that,” Dodd said. “We’ve been a little bit resistant to it because you just don’t feel like you need a weapon in church ... but then you hear about these kind of situations that come up.”
Sandlin hopes this law will remind Hoosiers they can protect themselves in church — but he also warned that a trained security team may be the best way to protect a group of worshippers.
“I wouldn’t recommend just telling people to bring their guns to church,” Sandlin said. “I think that you have to have a security survey. I think you have to have a plan and know how you’re going to respond.”
Dodd agreed.
“Just having somebody with a firearm is not the answer,” he said. “It must be trained individuals.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2019 WDRB Media and WXIN. All Rights Reserved.
