On October 15, 2026, a special-needs 16-year-old with a pump-action shotgun approached the government identified so-called “Gun-Free Zone” (supposedly to prevent firearm attacks by criminals) of Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon—in which he was a former student—shot a pickup truck, climbed over the school’s fence, breached the school’s locked doors by shooting through them, walked into the building and into the special-needs classroom, and killed three children and a teacher and critically wounded a child and a second teacher. A third teacher threw her cellphone at him and tackled him, immediately after which a father with a concealed carry pistol permit who had followed the killer into the building shot and killed the murderer.
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In the following video, retired police officer and SWAT veteran Keith Graves, of Christian Warrior Training, provides details of the incident and offers lessons to learn from it for youth ministry leaders (12:13 into the video) and church security teams.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, A List of Active Killer Incidents at Houses of Worship and Religious Schools ]
Graves says, “For church teams, the takeaways are to carry on the body and to prepare to respond alone before police arrive. A sighting of a long gun in your parking lot starts your response, and a shotgun will open a locked door in seconds. Churches near schools should also start reunification planning now. The four people killed at Silver Rail were killed before anyone could reach them, and the armed parent likely kept that number from going higher.”
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Interview with Keith Graves of Christian Warrior Training ]
He has created the free training scenario PDF, Long Gun Approach and Door Breach, and recommends that you run it with your team. He also recommends sharing this video briefing with your pastor and security team leader.
[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of ACTIVE KILLER ]
[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of ARMAMENT ]
- Lesson 1: Always Be Carrying, On Your Body (15:00)
- Lesson 2: Respond With What You Have (18:33)
- Lesson 3: Act On the First Sighting of a Gun (19:07)
- Lesson 4: A Shotgun Will Open Your Door (20:09)
- Lesson 5: Plan for People Who Cannot Move Quickly (22:33)
- Lesson 6: Train for This Exact Scenario (23:07)
- Lesson 7: Be Ready to Serve as a Reunification Site (23:48)
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Stopped: Armed Man Threatening Mass Shooting in a Naples, Florida Church ]
Also Read These SemperVerus Articles
• Church Security Team Pistol Qualification Course
• Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team
• Church Security Armament Recommendations By Tom Givens, John Correia, and 6 Other Professionals
• Active Killer Advice Compendium
• Interview With Active Shooter Incident Expert, Lt. Col. Ed Monk
• Interview With Police Trainer, Ron Borsch, on Church Security Teams Stopping Active Killer Incidents
• The Biblical Case Why Every Church Needs Armed Security
• A Prayer for Church Security Team Members
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