INDIANAPOLIS -- You'd expect a church to be one of the safest places possible, but recent events have caused local faith leaders to get prepared for the worst.
Ben Smith, the assistant pastor of the First Bible Aposolics Church, asked the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to come and help faith leaders prepare for an active shooter Monday evening.
"It's kind of a scary day that we live in," Smith said. "We don't know who's gonna walk through the doors."
Texas State University created the "Avoid, Deny, Defend" plan that IMPD teaches in the community, and taught to Smith's church.
The plan focuses on the following:
- Avoid a dangerous situation
- Deny a potential threat that may cause you or others harm by creating barriers to slow down an attack
- Defending yourself or others
The last point could mean parishioners with guns in church.
We're not against anyone carrying in church," Smith said. "But we want you to be legal and we would love for you to have some type of training."
Michael Johnson, who attends Bethel Apostolic Faith Church, said the seminar opened his eyes.
"From a safety standpoint you gotta understand that this is a potential threat," Johnson said. "God never changes but time does. Before, we never really had to think about it."
There was such an overwhelming response to the seminar, the church had to turn people away who wanted to attend because there just wasn't enough room.
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