A gunman killed two people at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, in December 2019 before armed members of the church’s security team shot and killed him. Photo: Screenshot from a Facebook video.

On September 28, 2025, Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, rammed his vehicle through the front doors of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, during Sunday services. He opened fire with an assault rifle on hundreds of worshippers and set the building on fire. Four people were killed and eight wounded before two police officers arrived in under a minute and killed him in the parking lot.

Attackers have targeted churches in the United States for decades. Criminologist Dallas Drake counted 147 church shootings between 2006 and 2016. Unfortunately, no armed parishioners were able to stop the Grand Blanc Township shooter. In several other cases, however, armed parishioners or volunteer church security teams were able to stop the attackers.

On December 9, 2007, a gunman killed two teenage sisters in the parking lot of New Life Church in Colorado Springs before entering the building. Jeanne Assam, a church member, former police officer and volunteer armed security guard, confronted and shot him inside the church.

Authorities said the gunman ultimately died of a self-inflicted wound. Police and church leaders credited Assam with stopping the attack. No one inside the church was killed. The U.S. House of Representatives later passed a resolution expressing gratitude to her.

In December 2019, a gunman killed two congregants at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas. Two members of the church’s volunteer security team shot him within six seconds of his opening fire. Jack Wilson, the security team’s leader and a firearms instructor, fired the fatal shot. He said, “I had a clear shot” and explained that he was comfortable taking it.

On February 11, 2024, a woman carrying a long gun opened fire at Lakewood Church in Houston. Two off-duty officers working church security, a Houston police officer and a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent, shot and killed her before she reached the main sanctuary. A 5-year-old boy who entered with her and a 57-year-old man were wounded.

On June 22, 2025, Brian Browning, 31, approached CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, wearing a tactical vest and carrying a rifle and a handgun. About 150 people were inside for Sunday services. He opened fire outside the building, according to Police Chief Ryan Strong.

A parishioner struck Browning with his pickup truck, and at least two members of the church’s security staff shot and killed him before he could get inside. One of the shooters was Jay Trombley, a church member on the volunteer safety team.

The only person wounded was a security team member who was shot in the leg, according to the pastor, as reported by The Detroit News and cited by AP. The church had maintained a security team for more than 10 years. Its members had no police or military experience.

Armed citizens have also intervened without belonging to a church’s security team. In Sutherland Springs, Texas, in 2017, Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 people at First Baptist Church.

Neighbor Stephen Willeford, a former NRA instructor, heard the shooting from his home less than a block away. He grabbed his rifle, ran barefoot to the church and exchanged gunfire with Kelley as the gunman emerged.

Willeford hit Kelley in the side, between sections of his body armor, but Kelley escaped in his SUV. Willeford flagged down passing driver Johnnie Langendorff. The two pursued Kelley for about 11 miles at speeds of up to 95 mph before Kelley crashed into a ditch.

The sheriff confirmed that Willeford had wounded Kelley, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Concealed carry is common in the small town.

Church members and security teams have also stopped attackers by tackling them.

On September 24, 2017, a gunman killed a woman in the parking lot of Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee, and shot six people inside. Usher Robert Engle, 22, tackled him and was pistol-whipped. During the struggle, the gunman was shot with his own gun.

Engle, who held a handgun carry permit, retrieved his own gun from his car and held the gunman until police arrived. Nashville’s police chief credited Engle with stopping the attack.

On May 15, 2022, a gunman killed one person and wounded five others at a luncheon held by a Taiwanese congregation at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California. When the gunman paused to reload, Pastor Billy Chang hit him with a chair. Congregants then tackled him, took his guns and hog-tied him with extension cords. They held him until deputies arrived.

On March 15, 2026, Emmanuel Ahsono Mbwavi came to a service at Eden Church in downtown Houston carrying a loaded gun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. According to court documents, the hammer of his pistol caught on his pants as he tried to draw it, and a security team member tackled him.

The security team and church members held him down until police arrived. His phone was open to notes about killing the church’s pastor.

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