American Church Group - Colorado

Tragedy in Nashville: What can we learn from the Covenant School shooting?

Written by Craig Cable, Director of Ministry Safety, ACG Colorado

Once again, we find ourselves in a state of shock, grief, anger, and loss after another school shooting, this time in a K-6 Christian school in Nashville, TN. While details are still emerging about the incident, I want to take the opportunity to respond to questions or concerns that may be swirling around your church or school.

As a father, husband, and son, my heart breaks for the families who lost their children and loved ones. However, as a security team leader, professional tactics trainer, and member of law enforcement, I don't have the luxury of simply processing my emotions and grieving the loss. Rather, I am compelled to compartmentalize the incident into timelines, tactics, and lessons learned. If anything positive can come out of this tragedy, it's that we can use the experience to learn and prepare to help prevent the next tragedy from occurring.

The following is a breakdown of the events that occurred at Covenant Christian School on March 27, 2023. I have included some of my thoughts and questions for you to consider as we strive to learn from this senseless act of violence.

The Arrival and Entering the School

The shooter pulled into the parking lot of the school at 9:53 am. Approximately 17 minutes later, at 10:10 am, they entered the main entrance of the school by breaching the glass doors with several shots fired from one of two rifles they were carrying. I believe that the need to breach the doors most likely saved lives. Shots being fired probably alerted faculty to the attack, which may have also resulted in the deployment of the alarm system. Had the doors been unlocked, the shooter would have most likely walked into the building unchallenged, catching more teachers and students by surprise and unprepared.

Thoughts to consider:

• It's very difficult to keep your eyes on every parking lot all of the time. However, monitored camera systems watching for individuals approaching the exterior entrances with weapons may have bought precious time to sound the alarm. How are your parking lot or entrances being monitored?
• Breaching the glass doors of a school with a firearm is not a new tactic. That's exactly what happened in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, which resulted in the deaths of twenty children and six adults. For many schools and churches, bullet-resistant film on glass is cost-prohibitive. If your facility does not have that safeguard, it's important to recognize that glass doors may serve to slow down an attacker, but they most likely won't stop someone who is motivated to get in. Are there ways you can help shore up your entrances to help delay or discourage access into the building?
• Preparedness is everything when an incident like this occurs. It's imperative that everyone knows and has practiced the emergency response plan so that time is not wasted developing an ill-conceived plan on the fly. How prepared and practiced are your staff and volunteers?

The Attack

The first 911 call came to the Metro Nashville Police Department dispatch center at 10:13 am. Once inside the building, surveillance footage from interior cameras observed the shooter moving purposefully in and around the hallways and the office area of the school. The body language of this individual indicated that they had a single focus in mind, which was to find individuals to kill. Based on the video, it appeared that most students and faculty were either safely barricaded in their rooms or potentially evacuating out another door.

Thoughts to consider:

• Statistically speaking, most active killer events happen very quickly and last only a few minutes. What often determines the duration of the attack is the attacker's ability to locate potential victims or be stopped by someone who intervenes in the attack. How quickly can someone engage a threat at your location should an attack occur?
• Limiting an attacker's movement within the building can help buy time and save lives. This can be accomplished by requiring key codes or fobs to access locked hallways or closed-off sections of the building. What can you do in your building to prevent an attacker from having free reign to roam the halls?
• While this detail may not have come to light yet, it appeared that this school did not have individuals dedicated to the role of security. Assigning administrators, custodians, or teachers to be security members on top of their assigned duties creates a challenge when timing, training, and the ability to respond in a meaningful way truly matter. Who could you recruit or hire to provide a dedicated focus on safety and security?

Law Enforcement Response

If you have watched the body camera footage of the two officers who responded to the attack at the school, you are seeing textbook active shooter response tactics in action. You will see the officers quickly assemble a two or three-man entry team. Their communications are concise and deliberate as they work together as a team. Their movements in clearing the initial rooms of threats are efficient and methodical. Once the gunfire was heard, their response to the second floor was expedient and coordinated. The tactics they used to position an officer with a specific weapon in the lead to stop the threat were all consistent with the training that patrol officers received. I have received much of the same training that these patrol officers had, and their tactics were spot on. Without a doubt, their training and speed of action saved lives.

Thoughts to consider:

• You will notice that a representative from the school met the responding officers outside and provided them with critical information about what was occurring and where the shooter may be. You will also notice that she communicated to the officers that two children were missing. If this incident had occurred at your location, who would most likely be the one to communicate with the first responders, and would they have the ability to know the status of everyone's whereabouts in the building?
• The officers' body camera footage provides a unique glimpse into the chaos and stress of an active shooter incident. The officers' ability to control their emotions and adrenaline to focus on the critical task at hand is both extraordinary and commendable. How will your staff and volunteers handle the chaos and stress while trying to keep people safe until help arrives?
• In my opinion, this attack could have been much worse if it had not been for the quick actions of the faculty and first officers on the scene. The fact that the shooter had positioned themselves in an elevated position in the building and was shooting out a window at police was a positive outcome because it meant that she wasn't in classrooms killing children. How can you use this tragic incident to have a conversation with your staff and volunteers about the importance of training and preparation?

Reunifying Families

As details continue to emerge, we are hearing stories of teachers who sheltered their children in closets and even evacuated them into the surrounding woods to ensure their safety. Imagine the terror, dread, and confusion felt by the parents as they begin to arrive at the school, not knowing if their child is safe or not. Reunifying children with their parents is the next important step once the crisis is over. This is a process that needs to be managed carefully and compassionately.

Here are some thoughts to consider:

• In this situation, children were relocated to a safe location predetermined in their emergency response plans. The school administrators' preplanning allowed them the opportunity to focus on the needs of the families rather than expending time and energy trying to get a game plan together. If there was a critical incident at your location, where would individuals evacuate to, and how would loved ones know to find them there?
• The reunification process is highly dependent on knowing exactly where everyone is. Going back to the school representative who alerted the officers of the two missing children, this level of accountability would have been very difficult had the children been in the hallways, common areas, or on the playground at the time of the attack. Having an accurate room roster and the ability to know when everyone is accounted for or missing will help expedite the process of reunification. This situation can be dramatically improved with the use of radios or an online application so that room leaders can quickly communicate with staff. How would you manage the evacuation, communication, and reunification process?
• Be prepared for the reality that families looking for loved ones won't find them at the reunification point. They may be in the hospital, or they may have lost their lives in the attack. Have a plan for how the information will be delicately communicated to families impacted. Do you have grief counselors in your ministry that could assist with the notification process?

I think it is clear to us all that had it not been for the heroics of the teachers and staff and the expedient response of law enforcement, this attack could have been far worse. This school had invested time and effort into developing its emergency response plan and had received training to help ensure that everyone could execute the plan when needed. Their preparation and actions bought them precious minutes that allowed law enforcement to respond and end the threat.

Brotherhood Mutual understands the need for ministries to be prepared and has created an entire online safety library filled with best practices, checklists, and training videos. They also have specialized coverages that we put on every policy to help a ministry heal and rebuild after a tragedy.

Our prayers are with the families impacted by this senseless act, and our hearts are with all of the Christian schools that we serve who may be feeling anxious or ill-prepared. As your risk management partner, please know that we're not only here to help you navigate the process of safeguarding your ministry, but we stand alongside you in the important role you play in helping our children come to know and love Jesus in a world that desperately needs him.

Craig is a sworn peace officer and serves as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff for the patrol division at the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. has trained hundreds of security team leaders and volunteers and was the lead developer of the Safe and Secure & Church: The Ministry Approach training kit produced in partnership with Group Publishing and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company.  

If you have further questions about protecting your ministry, please feel free to reach out to me at ccable@americanchurchgroup.com.    

Copyright. © 2023 American Church Group of Colorado, LLC. All rights reserved. The information in this article is intended to help your ministry better understand issues of vulnerability and mitigate risks.? It does not constitute legal advice between an attorney and a client. If specific legal advice is required, your ministry is encouraged to consult with a local attorney. Neither Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, American Church of Colorado, LLC, nor the author assumes liability for reliance upon the information provided in this article.