Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 01 December 2023

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters. 

‘Goal is at least 20 people’: Teen arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot up church in comments on YouTube videos about Pulse nightclub massacre

An 18-year-old Florida man is accused of threatening to shoot up his church in comments posted on YouTube videos about the Pulse Nightclub massacre and the mass shooting at Club Q. Seth Montes is facing a charge of written threats to kill and remains at the Volusia County Jail on a $10,000 bond. The FBI called the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office after it received information about a threat made online. Law enforcement tracked the IP address to a home in DeLand. The comments were made on YouTube videos of news broadcasts from the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, and the 2022 massacre at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Montes allegedly threatened to carry out similar acts at his church. “I’m going to get on the news next week and go down as the biggest church shooter on record against homophobic Christians,” he wrote, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime.

Related items:

• 18-year-old arrested in Volusia Co. after FBI flags his online mass shooting threats
• 18 year old arrested after making ‘numerous’ threats online to shoot up church, admits to ‘trolling’
• Florida teen threatens to ‘shoot up a church’ in comment section of Pulse shooting videos on YouTube: deputies

19-Year-Old (name omitted) Charged with 13 Counts of Interstate Threats

According to the indictment, the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint and other public documents, a woman used Gmail, Instagram, Facebook and Kick.com to threaten schools, hospitals and law enforcement in Uvalde, Texas.  Some of the threats referenced the man, who murdered in May 2022 several students and teachers from the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.  She described his victims as “all the little losers souls … I pray for them to be burning in hell.” 

Related items:  

• FBI Arrests Woman Accused of Sending Violent Threats to Uvalde School, Residents
• ‘Ex’ of Uvalde mass shooter busted for repeatedly threatening community, victims’ families: feds

Analyst Comments:

Sadly, Faith-Based Organizations need to remain vigilant and defend against active shooters and other types of hostile events. There is no clear profile based upon the demographics of a potentially violent person. Behaviors need to be judged, not people. The two examples above are good examples of observing threatening behavior, taking action, and possibly averting a disaster.

The following topics from the Virginia Office of the State Inspector General are relevant to FBOs:

• Emergency and fire drills (including active shooter drills)
• Up-to-date security plan ensuring annual training
• Emergency Action Plan (EAP)
• First responders’ access to all parts of building
• Regular Active Threat Response training, including Run Hide Fight
• STOP THE BLEED
• FEMA’s You Are the Help Until Help Arrives
• Computer vision on closed-circuit television (CCTV)
• Report concerning comments and behaviors
• FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Course | IS-904: Active Shooter Prevention: You Can Make a Difference
• CISA’s Non-Confrontational Techniques
• CISA’s Protective Security Advisors (PSA) Security Advisors
• CISA’s Pathway to Violence: Warning Signs and What You Can Do
• CISA’s Active Shooter – How to Respond Poster

Additionally, Faith-Based ISAO’s website provides resources in the Resource Library, including information on Securing Facilities and People.

“Don’t Name Them” Campaign

Both incidents above involve potential copycats. The Dont Name Them campaign discourages naming mass shooters and other attackers in news reports. To discourage copycats, the DAP routinely omits the name of violent actors.  

From the Dont Name Them campaign:

“Don’t sensationalize the names of the shooters in briefings – or in reporting about active attack events.

It is journalistically routine to name the killer. It’s public record and it is important to use their names and likenesses to apprehend them and bring them to justice. However, once they are captured, it’s really no longer a part of the story, other than to create a call to action for a like-minded killer to take their plans and thoughts and make them into deeds.

Sociologists and criminologists should study the criminal – but let’s not glorify the attacker by giving them valuable airtime. Don’t share their manifestos, their letters, their Facebook posts. Be above the sensationalism. Tell the real stories – the stories of the victims, the heroes and the communities who come together to help the families heal.

Active shooter research data shows the increase in these events. By encouraging the media to focus less on the suspects and more on the victims, it is hoped that future events can be prevented.”

CISA Resources to Help Schools Strengthen Security and Build Resilience

In recognition of Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month, CISA lays out some of the ways schools can build resilience through CISA’s school safety resources. Schools provide the foundation for our nation’s future success and are an essential component of our everyday lives, providing services to millions of children, families, and communities across the country. K-12 schools are also part of our nation’s critical infrastructure. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, educators, and staff, schools must be aware of risks and threats, create and implement actionable security plans, and be able to withstand and recover from incidents. This month marks Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month, an annual effort led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) focused on educating and engaging all levels of government, infrastructure owners and operators, and the American public about the vital role critical infrastructure plays in the nation’s wellbeing and why it is important to strengthen critical infrastructure security and resilience.

Analyst Comments:

Faith-Based Organizations that operate schools should consider utilizing CISA’s resources for protecting schools.