Take Action, Not Passivity

You’ve probably heard statistics that reveal an increase in the number of random active shooters in public places. We live in a fallen world in which lives don’t matter to someone who’s highly angered with someone or something, or they’ve somehow become enthralled with the newfound notoriety that comes to people who’ve committed such a tragic event. Churches must be prepared if such a person comes on their campus to do harm. While Evergreen Christian Community is blessed by numerous active and retired law enforcement personnel who are armed and ready to address these threats, not all churches have that luxury. So what can people do when someone is suddenly shooting near them in church (or any public place) and they are unarmed?

The first thing we have to do is change our mindset. In a vast majority of school, church, and public places where shootings have occurred, people choose to be passive or try and hide in places that won’t help them. I’d like for you to imagine how different things would be if we started throwing objects at these shooters while we advanced toward them and attacked.

Shooting a weapon accurately is not nearly as simple as it looks on television. A shooter needs their vision, a sturdy base, the proper grip, control of their breathing, and proper trigger control. These are all reasonably simple if a person is uninhibited. But if things are being thrown at you they’re very hard to accomplish properly. Consider for a moment how hard it would be at a shooting range to hit a target while three or four people were throwing the hardback bibles at you from our pews. Wherever those hit, they are going to hurt! You would naturally be forced to duck and move, and most of the necessary shooting requirements for accuracy would be lost. Then if these same people were advancing on you from different angles, and punching, hitting, kicking, and tackling you, the number of accurate shots you could actually get would be minimal.

In the Virginia Tech University shooting in 2007, students tried hiding under desks. If they had attacked the guy while throwing their books, laptops (tablets), and backpacks at him from all angles, considerably fewer students would have perished.

If a shooting is happening well away from you, run in the opposite direction and get away! If the shooter is far enough away that you can barricade people in a locked room, do it! But if it’s happening right near you, consider throwing things at this person to upset their equilibrium. Use whatever you can! Books, coffee cups, purses, tablets. The harder the object the better, but even soft objects are startling because they’re unexpected. Grab a nearby fire extinguisher and unload it on their face so they can’t see well! Encourage others around you to join in. Then you must render this shooter helpless until the police can get there.

We pray for a hedge of protection around our churches, schools, and public places. But if faced with a nearby threat, take action versus passivity.