Churches Arm and Train Congregants

By Jake Bleiberg
Associated Press
August 16th. 2019


In this July 21, 2019 photo, Police officer David Riggall, left, watches as trainee Bryan Hetherington, right, demonstrates clearing a room during a security training session at the Fellowship of the Parks campus in Haslet, Texas. Tony Gutierrez—AP

(HASLET, Texas) — Acrid gun smoke clouded the sunny entrance of a Texas church on a recent Sunday. Seven men wearing heavy vests and carrying pistols loaded with blanks ran toward the sound of the shots, stopping at the end of a long hallway. As one peeked into the foyer, the “bad guy” raised the muzzle of an AR-15, took aim and squeezed the trigger.

The simulated gunfight at the church in Haslet was part of a niche industry that trains civilians to protect their churches using the techniques and equipment of law enforcement. Rather than a bullet, the rifle fired a laser that hit Stephen Hatherley’s vest — triggering an electric shock the 60-year-old Navy veteran later described as a “tingle.”