A man who brought a gun to a church service in South Carolina has been banned from attending future events at the congregation, according to authorities.
The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office reported that a 60-year-old armed man attended a church service on Sunday in Woodruff. The man allegedly told attendees that he wanted to “let it all out today” while displaying his firearm, according to FOX Carolina.
When police arrived, the man was seated in the back pew and was escorted out of the sanctuary. When asked why he brought a gun to the church, he reportedly said he wanted to “become closer with the Lord.”
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Authorities confirmed that while the man legally possessed the firearm, the disturbance he caused led to his being labeled a trespasser, barring him from returning to the church.
In recent years, concerns about security at houses of worship have increased following multiple high-profile mass shootings in the United States.
A survey released in June of last year by Lifeway Research found that nearly four out of five Protestant pastors in the U.S. said their churches have some form of security measures in place during worship services. However, 17% reported having no security measures at all.
Among the security measures, more than half (57%) of the churches surveyed reported having an intentional plan for an active shooter situation, and a similar number (54%) said they had armed church members as part of their security protocols — an increase of nearly 10% since 2019.
Last December, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a guide titled “Physical Security Performance Goals for Faith-Based Communities” offering a set of security practices for congregations to implement, aiming to strike “the right balance between security and accessibility.”
In a statement at the time, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the department is “committed to protecting every American’s right to live, express, and worship their faith freely and in safety.”
“The physical security performance goals we are releasing today provide churches, synagogues, mosques, and other faith-based institutions with cost-effective, accessible, and readily implementable strategies to enhance their security and reduce the risk to their communities,” stated Mayorkas last year.
“I strongly urge all faith-based institutions to take advantage of this new resource and incorporate the security practices it outlines.”
