After the Texas synagogue hostage situation, what should you do if your house of worship is attacked?
EL PASO, Texas – A note sent to law enforcement by the FBI And Department of Homeland Security says faith based communities will "likely" be the target of violence by both domestic violent extremists and those inspired by foreign terrorists.
The note, obtained by ABC news, asks law enforcement partners to "maintain strong operational security and situational awareness on events that could be exploited by violent extremists."
This comes as new details emerge from the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, near Fort Worth, where a hostage situation took place over the weekend.
The letter indicates there are no additional specific or credible threats associated with this weekend's attack.
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker was said to have thrown a chair at the attacker and then aided the hostages to safety.
ABC-7 spoke with Pastor Elvin Porflit with First Baptist Church to find out what they have planned in case of a dangerous situation possibly involving a firearm.
Elvin told ABC-7 that they try to keep the threat from coming inside by being aware of their surroundings at all times.
He had advice for other places of worship saying, “I would strongly encourage churches to contact their law enforcement you know people close to them and be able to get trained, implement a plan within the resources they have. Every building is different so knowing how to secure the entrances I think is so important.”
Owner of CSP Protective Services Tom Buchino talked about the rings of security that should be in place for churches.
The inner ring consisting of the clergy, the middle ring is the congregation and the outer ring is facility's perimeter.
"Violation of any of those concentric rings of security could cause a possible lack of your security posture. We implement plans and protocols to protect all three of those rings," said Buchino.
The FBI and DHS letter to law enforcement offered additional resources to protect and mitigate attacks against houses of worship at Faith Based Organizations - Houses of Worship.
