You’ve probably heard about the church shooting that occurred in White Settlement, TX on Dec. 29th 2019. The footage from the incident has been making its way around the internet which brings us to question so many things about our own safety, skills, and capabilities. This footage is the first known video of any of the church shootings in recent history, excluding the first-person video from the mosque shooting in New Zealand which was live streamed by the shooter and quickly taken down.
As we watch the footage over and over we have to ask ourselves, what went wrong and what can we learn. This is by no means a disrespect to any of the victims or witnesses of the incident. But we use these tragedies as an opportunity to observe, learn and improve. We do the same thing with any other incident whether it is a school shooting, church shooting, or any violent encounter that there is video account of. Heck, even without the video we look to eye-witness testimony to help us navigate the timeline and find places to improve our protocol.
I made (2) videos posted on our YouTube channel as soon as this incident happened. On the first video we analyze the footage only, as there was no other information available. The second video adds more details of the incident as well as the news interview with Jack Wilson who is the person who shot and killed the shooter, ultimately saving the lives of his church congregation. I will place the links to those videos at the end of this entry for your viewing. Be advised, the first video has the actual footage of the incident and may not be suitable for some people. Meanwhile, I would like to give you an analysis of this incident here as well.
Overview:
Date: 12/29/2019
Location: White Settlement, TX (suburb of Ft. Worth, TX)
Shot and Killed: 3 (2 were church members, 1 was the shooter)
Duration: 6 seconds
People in the facility: Appx. 240
Although we have footage of the 6 seconds which show that actual shooting part, we have to rewind a little bit and get some more information. This event has some strange markers that we need to consider when it comes to not only the armed response, but also for the security staff. Some people may not like a few of the facts, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t valid. Please note that this is simply based on the incident and means no critique of the response or anyone involved.
Here is the facts of this particular shooting:
- Shooter arrives at church and is essentially a walking red flag
- Wearing a winter coat (it was almost 70 deg. outside)
- Wearing a fake beard
- Wearing a wig and hat on his head
- Was a former member of the congregation, and was then banned
- Was giving the pastor death threats in the weeks leading up to this date
- Had multiple verbal exchanges on this day with the church staff members
- Odd behavior included keeping his left arm stationary at all times and making frequent visits to the restroom
- Eye witnesses had alerted the safety team that they had a “bad feeling” about this individual
- Shooter has a history/record of a few violent crimes
- Church Safety Team takes notice
- Head of the church safety team is Mr. Jack Wilson
- Mr. Wilson alerted the A/V staff of the individual
- Mr. Wilson asked the A/V staff to put the surveillance cameras on the individual at all times
- Church Security staff takes a seat in the near proximity of the shooter
- Shooter stands and walks a few feet away and has unknown verbal exchange with church member (Mr. Tony Wallace)
- Shooter steps back and draws a shotgun and takes aim at Mr. Wallace (from the video, it looks like a pistol grip shotgun or maybe a shortened barrel shotgun). This is where the 6 second marker begins
- Church Security member (Richard White) stands up from appx. 15 feet away and attempts to draw his pistol from concealment
- Mr. White has his firearm located at the 6 o’clock position (small of the back) and struggles to get the firearm out.
- Shooter takes notice of Mr. White, and shoots him with the shotgun which resulted the death of Mr. White on scene. This took appx. 3.2 seconds
- Shooter then turns back to Mr. Wallace and shoots another round. This injured Mr. Wallace, and subsequently ended up killing him
- As the shooter takes his shot at Mr. Wallace, Mr. Jack Wilson (head of security) draws his pistol from appx. 12-15 yards away and places one single round which strikes the shooter in the head; killing him instantly
- Immediately following the final shot, Mr. Wilson is muzzle up and converging on the where the shooter collapsed
- Other church security members begin to enter the immediate area and also converged on the shooter (Up to 6 armed members. It is unconfirmed if they were all part of the security team or if they were armed citizens)
- One member is standing next to the body of the shooter, and tucks his pistol under his armpit to reach for his phone and call the authorities
- It was appx. 8-10 seconds from the initial threat to when the crowd began to panic, stand up and exit the area
Lessons To Be Learned:
- Knowing the abnormal behavior of the suspect as he entered the facility, which was taken under notice by the church security staff to a degree that the A/V staff was asked to place a camera on this individual; why was the suspect not removed from the immediate area and taken into an isolated area for inquiry?
- Considering a church is private property, could they have denied entry or at the very least asked the suspect to remove the beard, wig, and winter coat. Or possibly have the authorities on site make an inquiry under suspicion?
- When Mr. White stood up to respond to the shotgun being drawn, could he have drawn his own pistol from the seated position? Could he have selected a better carry method rather than the 6 o’clock position which is known to be problematic especially in a conceal carry application.
- In the time that the suspect aimed in on Mr. White, could Mr. Wallace have taken a hands-on counter-attack to atleast restrain the suspect? (This one gets real tricky so don’t count it as a lesson/question.)
- Mr. Jack Wilson did take a clear shot from back of the room. Based on the video, there was one person who may have been in the line of fire which would mean that he had to take an additional moment to clear the environment and take the shot.
- Was there a medical supply kit with items such as hemostatic gauze, chest seals, tourniquets and quick clot agent anywhere in the area? This could be used for anyone who has taken injury from the gunfire
- Has there been ANY training at all on the medical protocol such as Stop The Bleed or TCCC/TECC
- What is the training of the Church Security team itself for incidents such as this
- Is there a designated person(s) who is tasked with contacting the authorities
- The person who was muzzle sweeping the entire congregation by putting his firearm under his armpit to call 9-1-1.. could he have holstered his weapon rather than tucking it in his armpit?
Overall we are all grateful that this incident ended quickly and with the least amount of innocent lives being taken as one could realistic hope for. Certainly we keep the two good men (Richard White and Tony Wallace) in our thoughts. We also commend Mr. Jack Wilson for taking action which saved lives without a doubt. That all being said, we also have to look at the events that led up to the shooting itself and ask about the proper protocol. I have placed these in question format mostly because rather than being a critic, I would rather be a student. The student approach tends to open the mind to looking for improvements rather than being an arm-chair QB. I am not interested in criticizing the staff team rather; I would prefer to observe the incident and gather as much information as I can.
Watch Our Video Analysis Here:
Part 1: Footage and Analysis From Texas Church Shooting
Part 2: Update From Texas Church Shooting
Be Safe, Be Well, TRAIN HARD
Nik Farooqui
