Local, federal law enforcement host forum on protecting houses of worship

Hundreds of people attended a seminar in Jefferson City Thursday evening to hear from local and federal law enforcement agencies about violent attacks at places of worship, how to respond to them and how to prevent them.

The forum was put on by the Jefferson City Police Department along with the Cole County Sheriff’s Department, Lincoln University Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, FBI and the U.S. Western Attorney – Western District of Missouri.

Representatives from the FBI presented information on recent domestic acts of terrorism as well as attacks abroad by ISIS.

Panel members also described potential warning signs of someone preparing an attack and outline for an emergency action plan establishments can put into place in the event of an attack.

According to the FBI, there were 8 active shooter incidents at churches between 2000 and 2016, which included a shooting in the parking lot of a Jewish Community Center in Kansas City in April 2014 that killed three people.

Last November, 26 people were killed after a shooting inside a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.