CENTRAL OHIO -- For many, there’s no safer place than church.
But as you've learned in recent months, even your place of worship isn't immune from senseless acts of violence.
Law enforcement and churches are coming together to make sure the unthinkable doesn't happen in Central Ohio.
A gunman walked into the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill., Sunday, March 8, 2009. Authorities say the suspect killed Reverend Fred Winters at the pulpit and injured two parishioners.
FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitas says it could happen anywhere.
“Church is really a microcosm of society. Anything that can happen in our community can happen inside a church,” Trombitas said.
Mike Humphrey, a deacon at Newark Baptist Temple, says they had a scare of their own last year.
“We had a man stroll in during church service. Walked in the door, stepped into the area of the nursery, come back out, went over to the stairs, came back up,” says Humphrey.
After walking several more places, the man left without being confronted.
Security cameras caught it all.
“It was just an eerie thing to see that on the recording. How vulnerable we were at that time,” says Humphrey. He says he's putting together a security team.
Officials with the FBI and the Delaware County sheriff’s office held a church security and safety seminar in Delaware Wednesday.
Church leaders and law enforcement discussed ways to prevent all kinds of crimes at church -- everything from burglaries to what happened in Illinois.
Suggestions included limiting available entranceways and encouraging vigilance.
Other tips were left under wraps to keep would-be criminals from knowing what to expect.
“Church is a place who invites and welcomes every one, but we want our greeters and welcomers to maybe pay a little more attention to those coming in,” says Delaware County Sheriff Walter Davis III.
It's all about keeping churches as places of worship, not places of crime or violence.
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