Lessons
This incident was a tragic atrocity cut short by heroism and skill at arms. Its most important lesson to the American public is the importance of church security, and by extension school security, workplace security, and even home security. First responders got there quickly, much more so than the national average. According to Wilson, police were on the scene in about two minutes and paramedics arrived about three minutes after the last shot was fired.
Had the church been a gun-free zone, a rule which by definition only the law-abiding would have obeyed, the killer would have been free to dispense 11 more shotgun blasts in a target-rich environment of some 240 or more innocent men, women and children.
Ten more live shotgun shells — 11 if you count the one he spasmodically discharged upward at the moment Wilson killed him — and no one to stop him? Police two minutes away? And he had murdered two men in less than two seconds already? Do the math. Anyone not blinded by an empty political agenda can see how many lives were saved by the armed citizen voluntary security team.
On the tactical side, there are some things we can discuss. We’ve already addressed the tragically slow draw of the slain Richard White, who died three seconds after his stimulus to draw with his XD just starting to come up on target. Don’t carry in a manner from which you haven’t practiced drawing! Mr. White was wearing two cover garments and was seated, having to stand to complete his draw.
From under a closed front garment, your fastest draw is to use your support hand to lift the hem while your gun hand goes for the pistol. From an open front garment like a sport coat, the firing hand can sweep the covering fabric away as you draw. Drawing from a seated position is always harder and slower when the gun is at or behind the hip. Drawing from a middle of the back position is slower still. Mr. White had all these things going against him in those three seconds; that’s why he ran out of time before the 12-gauge slug tore into his chest.
The oft-quoted statement “combat accuracy is six inches at six feet” is BS. Wilson told me he teaches center chest aim as the default, and head shots only if that’s all you have. Here a head shot was all he had because bystanders were in the line of fire. He trained his people to shoot at distances like the one at which he made the attack-ending shot — he practiced what he preached. He nailed a solid head shot on a moving man at 15 yards or more.
Protectors should be armored! None of the security team were wearing soft, concealable body armor, which is available to defeat not only buckshot, but the rifled slug that killed Rich White. Consider this: the role of armed security is to protect the innocent from armed criminals. The criminals will be inclined to shoot the protectors first, which is exactly what happened at the West Freeway Church of Christ. A good concealable ballistic vest is available for the price of a decent quality handgun. They are legal for law-abiding citizens to possess and wear in all 50 states.
Be prepared to go hands-on. It’s my understanding Tony Wallace, the deacon within arm’s reach of the killer when the gun came out, was not a member of the security team and wasn’t armed. I don’t know if he had any hand-to-hand fighting experience or training, but if he had, he might have been able to grab the killer in a bear hug and to slow him down and give the armed security team members time to react. Instead, he had the natural reaction of moving back away, and was murdered. For every member of a congregation or school staff member who volunteers for armed security, there will be many more who are not up for the responsibility. Consider training those who don’t care to be armed in some basic hand to hand or disarming training in case fate puts them in a situation where they can do something positive.
We should also note the video depicts Jack Wilson showing exemplary muzzle control — high ready — as he moved through the chaotic scene toward the suspect, decocking his SIG after he was sure the killer was down and out of the fight. Several other members of the 22-person security team — as many as 16 or 17 were present — also drew their weapons. Most had good muzzle discipline, but at least one “muzzled” churchgoers as he moved toward the threat. Another did so when he tucked his gun under his armpit to reach for his cell phone to call 9-1-1. John Correia, who did the first analysis of this incident, spoke of the importance of using a holster allowing one-handed re-holstering, and of practicing something as simple as saying “Siri, call 9-1-1.”
It is ironic some strident politicians who want to take guns away from law-abiding citizens also cry out for the reduction of “mass incarceration” and for non-punitive diversion for criminals. Look at how many warning signals the multiple murderer in this case gave out to the criminal justice system over more than a decade of committing serious, life-threatening crimes. Yet he was continually allowed to plea bargain down from felonies to misdemeanors. His adjudication as mentally incompetent to stand trial should itself have been sufficient to make him a Prohibited Person insofar as owning firearms, yet there he was with a deadly weapon. News flash for those who push for gun control: Lawbreakers break laws. Only law-abiding citizens obey them. Duh.
At this writing, we don’t know where and how Kinnunen accessed the shotgun he used in the church.
