Weekend shooting puts renewed focus on security inside places of worship

LAKELAND, Fla. - The recent church shooting in Polk County has put a renewed focus on the safety and vulnerability of places of worship.

Investigators say on Sunday Jeremiah Fogle walked into a morning service at Greater Faith Christian Church in Lakeland and opened fire, critically wounding pastor William Boss and associate pastor Carl Stewart.

"The biggest mistake is to think it's not going to happen," said Michael Thakur, security consultant for an out of state company, called Guidry Group.

Thakur is in town for a conference in Orlando, but stopped by the church to try and make sense of the tragedy and offer to help. His team frequently works with churches around the country to make them safer.

"If somebody really wants to do something badly enough, it's going to be very hard just to stop them from the ground up," he said. "But we can certainly make it a lot more difficult and we can certainly make everybody a lot more aware."

Although there's no sure way to tell whether this shooting could have been prevented, Thakur hopes it's a wake-up call for all places of worship who have let their guard slip away.

"We are very security-minded," said Patsy Barnes, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer for Ignited Church in Lakeland. "We make sure when people come to Ignited Church they are very comfortable."

Barnes did not want to reveal specific security measures in place at the church, but says it starts with something as simple as the ushers acting as their eyes and ears.

"It has to be a safe place where they can come," she said of the parishioners.

Ignited Church recently held a security meeting for churches in the area. Among other things, they talked about preventing these types of situations from happening.