Recent violence at houses of worship has again raised difficult questions for organizations that welcome employees, visitors, members, volunteers, students, and the public into shared spaces.
On May 18, 2026, the San Diego Police Department reported an active shooter incident at the Islamic Center of San Diego. According to the City of San Diego, officers arrived within minutes and found three deceased adult victims outside the center. One of the victims was identified as a security guard for the Islamic Center.
The incident is a tragic reminder that active shooter preparedness is not only a concern for large businesses, schools, or government facilities. Houses of worship, nonprofits, community organizations, and workplaces all have a responsibility to think through how staff, volunteers, and employees should respond if violence occurs.
For employers and organizations reviewing their own emergency preparedness procedures, Compliance Training Group’s Active Shooter Awareness Training provides practical guidance for employees, managers, and staff members who may need to respond quickly during an active shooter or violent intruder situation.
Why Houses of Worship Face Unique Safety Challenges
Churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, religious schools, and other houses of worship often operate with a combination of paid staff, volunteers, greeters, ushers, children’s ministry teams, security teams, and administrative personnel. Many also hold services, classes, counseling sessions, community events, and public gatherings throughout the week.
That open and welcoming environment is central to their mission. However, it can also create safety challenges.
Unlike a traditional office building, houses of worship may have multiple public entrances, changing attendance patterns, limited security infrastructure, and volunteers who are placed in important front-facing roles without formal emergency response training. In many cases, greeters, ushers, staff members, or volunteers may be the first people to notice suspicious behavior or respond to confusion during an emergency.
Federal preparedness resources recognize this issue. FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration points faith-based organizations toward guidance that includes understanding risk, understanding the facility, developing and practicing a plan, educating greeters, pursuing grant resources, and reporting hate crimes or other incidents.
CISA’s house-of-worship security self-assessment also references security awareness training, including active shooter training, for paid and volunteer members.
Active Shooter Preparedness Is Broader Than One Type of Organization
Although the San Diego shooting involved a house of worship, the lesson is broader.
The FBI’s 2024 Active Shooter Incidents report identified active shooter incidents across several types of locations, including commerce, education, government, open space, and houses of worship.
That matters because many organizations fall into overlapping categories. A house of worship may also operate a school, daycare, counseling center, food pantry, administrative office, or event venue. A business may host customers, vendors, employees, and visitors every day. A nonprofit may hold public events or provide services to vulnerable populations. A training center, healthcare facility, warehouse, hotel, or corporate office may have employees who need to understand what to do if a violent incident occurs.
Active shooter preparedness should not be viewed as something that only applies to one industry. It is part of a broader workplace and organizational safety conversation.
Recent Events Show the Need for Practical Training
Recent incidents and law enforcement warnings continue to show that public gathering places can become targets for violence. In addition to the San Diego incident, the Department of Justice announced in June 2026 that a New Jersey man had been charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS after allegedly discussing potential attacks on U.S. targets, including places of worship and possibly a Jewish place of worship.
Not every threat becomes an attack. Not every violent incident can be predicted. But organizations can still take practical steps to improve preparedness.
That starts with helping employees, staff, and volunteers understand basic response options, communication procedures, evacuation routes, lockdown procedures, and the importance of acting quickly when seconds matter.
What Employees, Staff, and Volunteers Should Understand
Active shooter training is not about creating fear. It is about helping people understand their options before they are forced to make decisions under extreme stress.
Employees, staff, and volunteers should know:
- How to recognize warning signs or suspicious behavior
- How to report safety concerns before they escalate
- Where exits and evacuation routes are located
- When sheltering in place may be necessary
- How to communicate during an emergency
- How to follow the organization’s emergency action plan
- What to expect when law enforcement arrives
- Why quick, informed action can save lives
For houses of worship, this may include training for greeters, ushers, ministry leaders, administrative staff, teachers, and volunteers. For businesses, it may include employees, managers, front desk staff, supervisors, and security personnel. For nonprofits and community organizations, it may include both paid staff and volunteers who interact with the public.
Training Helps Turn a Written Plan Into a Practical Response
Many organizations have some form of emergency plan, but a written plan alone is not enough.
If employees or volunteers do not understand the plan, have not reviewed it, or do not know their role during an emergency, the plan may not be useful when it is needed most. Training helps bridge that gap.
Active shooter awareness training can help organizations reinforce important concepts before an incident occurs. It can also help leadership identify where additional planning may be needed, such as access control, emergency communications, evacuation routes, coordination with local law enforcement, or internal reporting procedures.
For workplaces, this is especially important because employees often look to supervisors, managers, or designated staff members for direction in a crisis. For houses of worship and nonprofits, volunteers and greeters may be placed in similar leadership roles during an emergency, even if they do not formally think of themselves that way.
Active Shooter Preparedness Should Be Part of Organizational Safety
The goal of active shooter preparedness is not to turn every workplace, church, school, or nonprofit into a high-security facility. The goal is to help organizations think realistically about risk, train the people who may need to respond, and build a safer environment for employees, volunteers, visitors, and the public.
Recent attacks at houses of worship are painful reminders that violence can affect places that are intended to be open, peaceful, and welcoming. They are also reminders that preparedness should not be limited to one industry or one type of organization.
Businesses, nonprofits, schools, faith-based organizations, healthcare facilities, and public-facing employers should all review their emergency procedures and consider whether employees and staff have received appropriate active shooter awareness training.
Compliance Training Group provides Active Shooter Awareness Training for workplaces and organizations that want to help employees and staff understand how to respond during an active shooter or violent intruder situation.
