Page 1 of 1

Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 5:10 pm
by troglodyte
Details are still sketchy.

Volunteer safety team fired shots at men with rifle. Fled in white minivan.

I don’t have “X”/Twitter but a friend just read a statement from the church stating the suspects were seen trying to wedge a rock under a door to keep it from opening. I presume they were trying to block the exit doors.

https://www.kwtx.com/2024/10/06/local- ... et-county/


Edit: previous link converted to needing app. Hopefully new link will remain valid.

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 5:29 pm
by RoyGBiv
Some serious heads up by the security guy. Bravo.

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/armed-s ... unty-texas

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 9:42 pm
by puma guy
RoyGBiv wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2024 5:29 pm Some serious heads up by the security guy. Bravo.

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/armed-s ... unty-texas
Maybe the Church Security should train the USSS,

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 9:37 am
by Paladin
A church security team member confronted two men who were wearing masks in the parking lot of the church. One of the men showed a rifle which caused the security member to fire three rounds of his gun, according to BCSO. Police added that the two suspects fled in a white van heading north on US 281.

Looks like an organized attack. Outstanding job by the church security! :cheers2: :txflag:

What is also interesting about this is that the FBI will not consider this an active shooter attack, as security succeeded and no one died.

There has to be a better measure than the FBI statistics of failure.

ARREST MADE: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 5:17 pm
by Mike S
Yeah, not a coordinated attack so much as a "Made Up" event...

Church volunteer arrested for making a false report. Seems to have been lots of angst & gnashing of teeth, wasted resources, & an embarrassment. There are LOTS of Church Safety programs out there that are doing wonderful work. This guy isn't a representation of those good works.

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local ... e39928af2c

It will be interesting when more details are published with hard facts.

This is a "Teachable Moment", & highlights the importance of screening those who are allowed into the Safety Ministry.

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 6:40 pm
by Paladin
Thanks for the update Mike. Would definitely like to learn more.

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 7:35 pm
by rtschl
This is why it's important to vet your team members. Though we cannot weed out every possible idiot, doing some basic things will help prevent this. Small churches may only have a small number of people willing to serve in this role, which makes it harder. But that makes the need greater to vet them as best as possible. Doing things like:
  • Do not use new members - get to know them and make sure they are plugged into the church first.
  • Try to determine their temperament - would they de-escalate first if possible?
  • Do they brag a lot about their skills or background? That's a red flag.
  • Do not take the guy dying to be on your team. You don't want a wanna be cop or batman.
  • You want sheepdogs, but be wary of Alphas (or pretend Alphas) that think they know everything. They're un-trainable.

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 9:09 pm
by carlson1
This is off a Facebook LEO page.

Image

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 11:07 pm
by Jose_in_Dallas
Wow! Just wow! I can't imagine someone trying to get away with something like this.

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2024 9:40 am
by Ruark
So what exactly happened and didn't happen? He fired the shots, but there were no "two guys with a rifle"? He didn't fire any shots at all?

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2024 10:26 am
by rtschl
Ruark wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2024 9:40 am So what exactly happened and didn't happen? He fired the shots, but there were no "two guys with a rifle"? He didn't fire any shots at all?
According to below article he did shoot his weapon, but made up the story:

“Upon the arrival of law enforcement, it became clear that shots had been fired, and that all of them came from a member of the Church’s volunteer safety team,” the BCSO statement read. “The safety team member stated that he confronted 2 suspicious males outside the church, one of whom presented a rifle.

“In the course of this investigation, the safety team member who had fired the shots admitted that he had fabricated significant details of this incident and had lied to law enforcement and others about this incident,”


https://www.burnetbulletin.com/news/con ... oting-hoax

Re: Shots fired at The Epicenter Church, Burnet, TX

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2024 8:28 pm
by RoyGBiv
The remaining question is...
Did he have a negligent discharge and this was a bad cover story ... or... Did he fire his weapon with premeditation, intending to pass it off as a hero story?