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Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post

Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 24 October 2024

Faith-Based Security Headlines

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.

Florida priest hospitalized after stabbing attack; suspect in custody

Episcopal News Service reports:

The rector of an Episcopal church in St. Augustine, Florida, was the victim of a stabbing attack Oct. 23 that has left him hospitalized, the Diocese of Florida said in a written statement on the attack.

The Rev. Matt Marino, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, was having coffee in the city’s downtown neighborhood when “a random assailant” stabbed him, the diocese said. There was no initial indication of a possible motive behind the attack.

Marino was taken to a hospital, where he was reported to be in stable condition and awake. A suspect has been arrested, the diocese said.

The stabbing occurred around 8 a.m., according to WJXT-TV, which identified the suspect as a 22-year-old woman.

Related Articles:

Analyst Comments:

The attack on a Florida priest is an example of the threat of edged weapons and the vulnerability of faith community members when they can be identified in public.

There are other examples of edged weapon attacks against houses of worship and against identifiable members outside of houses of worship.

Other edged weapon attacks:

Edged weapons continue to be a method available to terrorists. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) | JCAT First Responder’s Toolbox issued Terrorist Messaging Urges Use of Edged-Weapons. While active shooters remain an extreme threat against the faith community, other threats, such as edged weapons, should be considered.

Also, individuals should consider using extra caution when in public. There are many recent examples of students being attacked when they were identified as being Jewish. For example, NBC News reports  Five Jewish college students report being assaulted in last month

The following resources may help improve personal security:

Weekly Security Sprint EP 86. Election security, arrests, and exercises

The Gate 15 Security Sprint is a weekly rundown of the week’s notable all-hazards security news, risks and threats and some of the key focus areas for organizations to consider behind the headlines. Gate 15 team members discuss physical security, cybersecurity, natural hazards, health threats and other issues across our environment.

In this week’s Security Sprint, Dave and Andy covered the following topics:

The above Gate 15 Weekly Security Sprint website also provides links to many security-related items of interest.

Information on other Gate 15 podcasts can be found at Podcasts (gate15.global).

More Security-focused Content

Attacks on Houses of Worship in 2023
Read the March 2024 Threat Level Statement Update
Access all-hazards resources from public and private sector partners, curated by the FB-ISAO team.

The FB-ISAO’s sponsor Gate 15 publishes a free daily newsletter called the SUN. Curated from their open source intelligence collection process, the SUN informs leaders and analysts with the critical news of the day and provides a holistic look at the current global, all-hazards threat environment. Ahead of the daily news cycle, the SUN allows current situational awareness into the topics that will impact your organization. To sign-up for the SUN, send an email to gate15@gate15.global

Learn More About Gate 15’s Enhanced Intel Solutions

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