When evaluating how secure a location is, experts generally talk about “soft” targets like schools or “hard” targets like police stations.
The deadly shooting in Minneapolis – at a combined church and school – was at the extreme end of that spectrum.
“Certainly houses of worship and schools are the softest of soft targets, and (the shooter) knew that clearly,” said Donell Harvin, former DC Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence.
The attack at Annunciation Catholic Church while schoolchildren gathered for morning Mass underscored the particular security challenges that religious schools face in the age of the school shooting. These hybrid institutions have to balance the need for secure school grounds for children with the welcoming and openness that is fundamental to organized religion.
“There’s a clash of tenants here,” CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller said. “The first is a school, which is (designed) to protect the children and have a layered approach to security. But the second is the house of worship, which is by principle … meant to be open to all at any time.”
