West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas. You may have seen the video already. But here are the nut grafs from The Times:
"A gunman opened fire at a church in Texas on Sunday morning, killing one person and critically wounding another before a member of the church’s security team fatally shot him, the authorities and witnesses said.We have a hired security guard at all the Sunday Masses, and volunteers patrol the parking lot in a golf cart, looking for suspicious activity. In Florida, anybody driving a car is probably guilty of suspicious activity. Our rent-a-cops run from professional to Lieutenant Calley. Today’s was armed for a computer game and was avoiding interaction with those he was there to protect. In addition, the ushers lock the side doors (so they open only from inside) as soon as the entrance procession reaches the altar.
"Between 250 and 300 people were inside the auditorium of West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, near Fort Worth, when the gunman opened fire just before communion, said Jack Cummings, a minister at the church.... "A member of the security team was killed, he said. The team is made up of volunteers who are members of the church’s congregation. They are licensed to carry firearms and practice shooting regularly, Mr. Cummings said."
We (ushers) were told that this is necessary. Whether an insurance company makes it so was left dangling, although the question was asked. Suspicious characters, who may (or may not) be on an FBI list were seen driving through the parking lot before the new policies were instituted.
The Texas shoot-out is one of the few cases I can recall in which good guys with a gun stopped a bad guy with the gun, as the NRA always promises. The NRA never mentions the good guy who was shot. But then, why do I feel less secure than I did before we got security? It may have to do with the sheer commonness of such events.
Well, at least it was only two dead beside the shooter and not 26 dead.
ReplyDeleteEventually it'll be AI and nonlethal drones and nobody will be killed, not even the shooter. But its ridiculous to need this stuff
That's an interesting thought, that AI could detect a shooter before it happens. And nonlethal drones, I don't know, armed with tranquilizer darts?
DeleteWhile AI might do a better job of detecting a shooter than clinicians, law enforcement etc. might do, I suspect it would be at the cost of many nonlethal drones armed with many tranquilizer darts, in other words a lot of false positives.
DeleteThat's the main reason for nonlethal. The false positives won't have deadly consequences. I would imagine that a shooter would walk differently and that a trained AI could spot him and then track him for further indicators. Almost twenty years ago, I proposed nonlethal drones. They would have to be miniature anesthesiologists, administering a highly dangerous drug for rapid immobilization and then the antidote, monitoring life signs to keep the enemy combatant in the Twilight zone. That would be the closest thing to the "Gas of Peace" in that 1935 H.G. Welles based movie, "Things to Come".
DeleteIn my concept, the drone would land on the target, clamp on, and start administering drugs. I believe there are super fentanyls that can kill on contact. Maybe something like that followed by an injection of Naloxone.
DeleteI wonder, though, if AI will ever be better than 12 random but selected citizens sitting as a jury. They sure don't have a Sigma Six record. That's one of the things wrong with capital punishment -- jurors make mistakes.
DeleteAre we talking about Artificial Intelligence? This is all a little too Phillip Dick for me. I don't want to be injected with fentanyls and Naloxone because some pre-crime drone thinks I may be about to commit a crime.
DeleteYes, artificial intelligence mated to quick acting drones. The AI would track the suspect and react only when a weapon appeared. It might even detect the weapon through clothing. I figure it's better than a shootout in a church. Of course, if this nation actually became kinder and gentler, maybe we wouldn't need all this technological nonsense. I think we're a stressed out society because of our economic structure and government policies. Maybe we should look into that before technofix. But, with my background, I'll go technofix if no one wants to improve the societal conditions.
DeleteCompletely agree that the NRA and other pro-gun outfits will highlight this incident to underline the importance of good guys being armed.
ReplyDeleteOne time back in the 1990s, during the middle of Sunday mass, a young man who pretty clearly had some psychological issues came into our narthex and punched and knocked down a man who was standing there, attending mass. The attacker was subdued by ushers, and the police were called. The man who was punched was a complete stranger to the attacker and apparently was chosen at random. As it happens, the victim was an RCIA candidate that year, and told our pastor that the incident redoubled his commitment to be initiated. I was present in the church when the incident took place, seated on the piano bench up at the front. I could hear the mini-fracas in the back but none of us could see what was happening and had no idea what was going on.
Another time, a distraught woman walked up the steps into the sanctuary before mass started, stood at the microphone at the ambo, and started railing about what an awful place St. Edna was. On that occasion, an usher walked up to her, gently placed an arm around her shoulder, steered her away from the microphone, whispered some words to her, and quietly led her back down the steps and out of the worship space. I was really impressed - he handled it beautifully.
God bless our ushers; I think people don't fully appreciate the kinds of things they're called to deal with. They're also our "first responders" if someone has a heart attack, stroke or similar health emergency in the church.
In the wake of recent church shootings, our current pastor has stood before the congregation a couple of times and pointed out where all the emergency exits are. In the wake of these incidents this past weekend (including the stabbing of five Jews in New York), it wouldn't surprise me if he did it again.
We had a guy whose keeper would drop him off for Mass for an hour, figuring what could go wrong? Nothing usually did. But occasionally he would take off for the altar, and my pal Joey would intercept him and engage in conversation as he led him back to the seat. The guy had a thing for Father Gavin, who was the pastor of the the day. One day, just before the final prayer and blessing, he blasted past Joey and shouted at the visiting priest, "You're not Father Gavin!" When Joey caught up, the guy said, "Don't worry. This guy isn't Father Gavin," and he walked back to his pew.
DeleteWe have one or two "special needs" regulars these days who tend to wander around the church, speak up at inappropriate times, and so on. Those of us who are regulars ourselves have become used to them. But they can freak out visiting priests (which we have pretty frequently these days).
DeleteThis category of people - those who don't observe the social norms and customs - can be challenges for parishes who strive to take an "All Are Welcome" approach (an approach I approve of, fwiw).