Monday, December 16, 2013
Make a Safety List & Check It Twice
By Mary Marr, Founder and President of the Christian Emergency Network (CEN)
Special to the ASSIST News Service
PHOENIX, AZ
(ANS) – As the Christmas season is upon us, it is wise to report any suspicious behavior to local law enforcement or church security personnel and be aware of potential indicators of harmful activity.
Illustration from the Christian Emergency Network
Indicators may include unusual questioning regarding your facilities or personnel entry/exits; multiple false alarms or emergency calls; facility video camera activity; questioning on peak hour facility usage; or attempts to access “off limits” locations such as roof tops or sensitive areas.
Just today, we were reminded to heed these indicators as we witnessed a potential “bomb” incident at Harvard University and the alleged terrorist plot on December 13, 2013 at Wichita Airport where Terry Lee Loewen, 58, was been charged in federal court with attempting to explode a car bomb at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
Loewen faces one count of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to damage property and one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen.
United States attorney Barry Grissom announced the arrest of Terry Loewen of Wichita, who was arrested in a plot to detonate a suicide car bomb at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport. According to Grissom, Loewen was an employee of the airport and was arrested after trying to gain access to the airport.
“Loewen, who worked as an avionics technician at the Hawker Beechcraft Services facility at the airport, Beechcraft confirmed, is alleged to have spent months developing a plan to use his access card to airport grounds to drive a van loaded with explosives to the terminal,” said a story in the local Wichita Eagle.
Authorities said he planned to pull the trigger on the explosives himself and to die in the explosion.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Kaste said, “No passengers or workers at the airport were ever in danger.”
“Grissom and Kaste stressed that there was no indication the defendant was involved with or working with any religious community in Wichita and his alleged actions in no way should reflect on any religious group.”
The story went on to say that Loewen has been under investigation by the Wichita Joint Terrorism Task Force since early summer 2013, Grissom said.
“Loewen didn’t realize he was having an online conversation with an FBI employee in which Loewen expressed ‘desire to engage in violent jihad on behalf of al Qaeda,’ the criminal complaint said.
“Over a period of months, Grissom said, Loewen took a series of steps to act on the plot, as part of the jihad, or ‘holy war.’”
School Shooting
Students from the Arapahoe High School
escaping the shooting
(TV capture)
Last week, we learned of another school shooting, this time at Arapahoe High School in suburban Denver, where a student carrying a shotgun, who apparently made no attempt to hide it, wanted to confront a teacher and asked other students the whereabouts of that faculty member.
CNN reported the shooting began after the student entered Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, with the intention of confronting a teacher, Sheriff Grayson Robinson told the reporter. He declined to identify the dead gunmen.
“I want to again repeat to you the suspect has been found inside the school and he has deceased as a result of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Robinson said.
At least one person — a minor — was taken to Littleton Adventist Hospital with a gunshot wound, Lauren Brendel, a hospital spokeswoman, told CNN.
Brendel did not release the age, gender and condition of the minor. But Robinson told reporters that two students were shot, including one who was taken to an area hospital in serious condition. The student appears to have acted alone.
Church Assaults
Despite this latest incident at the Arapahoe High School, there have been more violent church assaults resulting in death in churches than in public schools in the same calendar time frame in the U.S., according to New Life Church Security officer, Carl Chinn.
Suspect being taken into custody after alleged attack on a nun
On December 13, a Catholic nun was assaulted in the church parking lot in Pittsburgh, PA. The assailant has been arrested on 10 counts as the St. Titus Catholic Church is calling for prayer for the 70-year old nun.
Church violence has increased with each passing year and yet the secular media does not report a church pastor being shot in his pulpit, or the nun assaulted in a parking lot quite the same way as they are reporting the tragic shooting at the Colorado High School today.
Finally, investigations are ongoing surrounding an unexploded Molotov cocktail that was found outside of a church in Oakland County, Michigan last week. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department reported that the minister of the church found the unexploded device, threw it away, and did not notify police until two hours later when services were over. Upon further investigation the authorities found a second device near the church. Although no arrests have been made, authorities disclosed that their primary suspect is a 39-year old church member.
It is imperative that we speak to the need for security plans, teams and training with every opportunity and to remind local authorities that we are aware of this statistic. Christian Emergency Network provides resources to assist churches and ministries assess their risks, develop plans and identify their emergency teams before an incident occurs.
Be Aware and Pray
* Peaceful secure Christmas season for believers, for those in authority, and for those still without the saving knowledge of Christ that they would come quickly to His safe care.
* Officials as they have taken yet another terrorist into custody today – thanking God for His protection.
* Churches to accept their responsibility for their own security and supporting the local LE in their support of them.
* Christian leaders to understand the statistics and get their own emergency plans in place.
* Christians worldwide who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus!
CEN’s Founder and President Mary Marr is available for ongoing interviews. The goal of rallying the Church to be “aware, ready, and there” sharing Christ in any crisis large or small using a pray-care-share approach is the focus of each interview with Mary. Her expertise in providing a Christian worldview to emergency preparedness and response, working with Department of Homeland Security and FEMA faith-based initiatives, developing the Biblical Readiness Standard, and offering a biblical perspective on any crisis situation provides a unique and valued service to the Christian community worldwide. In addition to being a seasoned radio broadcaster, educator, speaker, and author of Lighting the Way, Mary is also the author of CEN’s three core ready training resources: ReadyChristian, ReadyChurch and ReadyCity. See more at: http://www.christianemergencynetwork.org/readiness-project. You can contact Mary Marr by phone at +1 520.577.6589 or go to http://www.christianemergencynetwork.org/contact-us.
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<!–BYLINE:By Mary Marr, Founder and President of the Christian Emergency Network (CEN)
Special to the ASSIST News Service–>