A very disturbing day in Colorado yesterday . . . In suburban Denver, a missionary training center was fired upon by an unknown assailant. And in Colorado Springs the same thing happened at the well-known New Life Church. Between the two shootings, five people died (including one shooter). Authorities are trying to determine if the shootings are connected. You can read about these tragedies here.
One noteworthy observation about this episode is that the New Life Church assailant was shot and killed by an armed, volunteer guard. There's no telling how many lives this guard saved, as the shooter entered a busy lobby of hundreds of people (many picking up their kids from the nursery) firing an automatic weapon.
When I was recently in El Salvador, I was told that many churches utilized armed guards to protect their doors. I had no idea we were doing the same thing in the states, but perhaps it's time more churches considered the idea. With some states now having conceal and carry laws (including Missouri) would it not be worth considering, for a church to designate someone to be armed at worship services?
It's certainly a sad state of affairs that brings us to this point, but can churches in this day and age afford not to have a plan? The recent church shooting in Neosho, MO (a couple hours down the road from Selmore) shows us no church is immune.
What do you think about this issue? You can give your input by participating in the poll, located to the right of this entry.