After church shooting, Texas AG launches resource site for volunteer security teams
AUSTIN TX March 14 2020
Nearly two-and-a-half months after the head of a White Settlement church’s security team stopped a gunman within seconds after he opened fire, Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a website Wednesday with resources for volunteer security teams protecting places of worship.
The webpage details what measures are allowed under Texas law, answers frequently asked questions and directs visitors to various state and federal resources and trainings.
In a statement Wednesday, Paxton said the website will help ensure volunteer security teams are equipped with the information they need to protect their communities.
“As we recently witnessed in the heroic actions of Jack Wilson during the White Settlement Church shooting, volunteer security at houses of worship can provide immediate, life-saving responses that protect worshipers in dangerous situations,” Paxton said in a statement. “Nobody should fear for their life while attending a worship service.”
On Dec. 29, a gunman opened fire at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, fatally shooting two people before Jack Wilson returned fire. Wilson, of Granbury, leads the church’s security team, and killed the gunman with a single shot just six seconds after it had began.
In the days after the shooting, he was praised as a hero, and he was later honored with the Governor’s Medal of Courage — the highest award the governor can bestow to civilians.
Texas law permits places of worship to establish security teams without obtaining licenses or state permission if the security team members are unpaid volunteers, providing services at the place of worship and don’t wear badges or uniforms that identify them as security or create the impression they may be law enforcement.
In 2017, state lawmakers passed a law that waived fees charged to private institutions — including churches — that have their own security teams. In September, a recently-passed law also went into effect that allows licensed handgun owners to carry firearms into places of worship, unless the religious organization gives notice it’s restricted.
Previously, openly carrying or bringing a concealed firearm was prohibited in places of worship, unless the religious organization granted approval.
The law was intended to clarify a December 2017 AG opinion that was issued in the wake of the Sutherland Springs shooting that took place in a Baptist church just a month before.
Just days after the White Settlement church shooting, Tarrant County lawmakers said the recently-passed laws worked as intended, and credited them for preventing a possibly bigger tragedy.
Volunteer security teams have been trained on how to best protect churches for years in Texas. Of the 277 active shooter incidents that have occurred between 2000 to 2018 and have been tracked by the FBI, 11 happened in houses of worship.
The website can be reached at: texasattorneygeneral.gov/houses-worship
