‘Have a plan’: Rock Hill Police advise church leaders on preparing for, handling active-shooter scenario

Most people go to church to hear a message about saving souls.

On Thursday night, with some 500 people gathered at First Baptist Church in Rock Hill, the message was about saving lives – and how to prevent or respond to a critical incident arising in a house of worship.

Safety and security at churches has become a concern across the country after nine parishioners were shot and killed at a historically black Charleston church in June. Terri Hood, First Baptist’s church administrator, said smaller churches have contacted her with questions about preparing and responding if such an incident happened in their own buildings.

More than 500 people from about 100 churches registered to attend Thursday’s seminar, which was hosted by First Baptist in conjunction with the Rock Hill Police Department.

Officers and detectives spoke to the crowd about disaster response psychology, active-shooter events and civilian response to those events.

Officer Wayne Maury played a 911 call placed by a teacher during the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. The recording lasted three to five minutes, which Maury said is the average time it takes for police to respond to an emergency.

“It’s important to have a plan for those three to five minutes,” he said.

Detective Michael Chavis spoke about how to respond to an attack using the acronym ADD:

▪ Avoiding a threat.

▪ Denying an attacker access.

▪ Defending against an attacker if a confrontation is unavoidable.

Chavis also explained the law regarding concealed carry in churches, saying that anyone who carries a weapon in a church is required to have permission from the church or its governing body. Church officials must make clear to anyone carrying a weapon that they must comply with law enforcement if there is an active-shooter scenario at the church.

Like many in attendance Thursday, the Rev. Phillip Cargile of the First Born Church of the Apostolic Faith in Rock Hill had the Charleston church shooting on his mind.

“We’ve already implemented some things since that happened,” he said. “We figured we’d come out today to learn a little more of what we can do for securing our church and members.”

Several companies were on hand Thursday to offer advice to church leaders looking to plan ahead and be prepared for an incident.

Darrell Kimbrell was representing S.C. Firearms Training, a nonprofit that specializes in firearms training and church security. Calls for them to make appearances at churches and seminars have increased dramatically since the Charleston shooting, he said, but there’s more to church security than preparing for an active shooter.

“I want to stress that it doesn’t stop there when it comes to church security,” he said. “There are things involved in making your church more secure than just somebody from the outside coming in to do you harm.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 9:40 PM with the headline "‘Have a plan’: Rock Hill Police advise church leaders on preparing for, handling active-shooter scenario."