March 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 3

GUEST COMENTARY
Chief Joel F. Shults,
No Sacred Space: Worship at Risk
There was a time when
most church doors were left
unlocked. If someone needed
shelter or a place to pray
or contemplate, they could
slip into a sanctuary for some
quiet reflection. Most of today’s
houses of worship are not only
locked and alarmed, but many
also have their own armed
security and safety teams ready
to respond to violence. Attacks
on churches began reaching
record numbers in 2023 consistent
with a years-long trend
of rising vandalism, arson, and
shootings.
On February 11, 2024, Genesse
Ivonne Moreno opened fire at
the arena housing Joel Osteen’s
Houston, TX Lakewood church,
and was killed in an exchange
with off-duty police officers
present. The rifle found at the
scene reportedly had pro-Palestinian
writing on it.
In addition to the highest
profile incidents, there are many
more assaults, disturbances,
property damage, threats, and
arson attempts that make no
national headlines. No faith
group is exempt because each
represents an ideal that can
enrage an attacker. Chapels,
temples, mosques, gurdwaras,
and religious educational facilities
are all vulnerable.
Also in February Zackary
Plowman, 39, found the Community
Fellowship Moravian
Church in North Carolina, a
place to hide on a Saturday
after shooting 3 people in Lexington.
On Sunday morning he
encountered the pastor of the
church and the pastor’s wife.
Plowman kidnapped the couple
at knifepoint, stealing their car,
and later dropped them off at
a different location where they
were found uninjured. The suspect
has been arrested.
In Hendersonville, TN the Luna
Lane Church of Christ had to
cancel services due to massive
vandalism affecting the atrium,
nursery, lobby, and restrooms,
along with flooding in the fellowship
hall and classrooms.
That investigation is still open,
and no motive or suspect is
known at the time of this writing.
A Tulsa, OK man, upset over
his marriage, was arrested after
making threats to shoot up a
church in the city. A witness reported
a conversation in which
the suspect claimed he had an
automatic weapon and intended
to kill everyone in the church.
Investigating police officers
recovered a weapon and ammunition.
A teenage resident of a small
community in eastern Colorado
was sentenced to six years in
prison for plotting to carry out
shootings at multiple schools
Genesse Ivonne Moreno
and churches in the Colorado
Springs area. The teen confessed
to planning the attack
and several planning documents
were discovered. Authorities
believe the arrest prevented a
serious attempt to complete the
crimes.
A 32-year-old man in Pasadena,
CA has been apprehended
after a church arson and other
criminal activity. The suspect
was connected to two separate
arson fires at Dream Church. He
was arrested during an attempted
carjacking in the church
parking lot.
Elsewhere, a Cumberland,
MD man was arrested for burglary
and malicious destruction
of property, following reports
of him discharging fire extinguishers,
breaking light bulbs,
and stealing food at a Lutheran
church. A 22-year-old male
was arrested for a shooting at a
Catholic church in San Francisco
in which, fortunately, no one
was injured. Teens were involved
in a stabbing in the parking
lot of a Chico CA church near
Chico State University. All of the
events cited have happened in
the first two months of 2024, according
to Keith Graves, a church
security expert who publishes a
newsletter on the issue.
Motives to explain this increase
will vary. On a societal
level, the division over issues
like abortion, support for Israel,
racial tension, or gay rights can
shine a spotlight on a particular
group or facility. An attack on
the building or occupants can
have symbolic meaning, just as
any target of a terrorist would
have.
Individually, churches are
places where domestic violence
victims may have sought help,
distressed persons suffering
from mental illness or other life
crises are attracted to churches,
and even criminals evading capture
may seek refuge there.
Despite federal hate crimes
and a federal task force on
places of worship experiencing
violence, many legislative attempts
are being made to limit
lawful weapon possession in
churches and even restricting
church security teams. People of
faith have a right to be safe in
their places of worship and only
the most extreme of pacifists
would argue against defending
worshipers.
This article originally appeared
at the National Police Association
and The law officer was
reprinted with permission.
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