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A rented funeral spilled onto the church steps. Minutes later, a man was shot.

A crowd leaving a funeral at Open Bible Church in Northeast Baltimore began arguing and shoving on the front steps, and a 25-year-old man was shot. The family had rented the building, and the church's own people were not running the service. Police have released no suspect information.

Baltimore, Maryland · October 24, 2026 · 2 min read

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Security · Karak, Jordan

Gunmen opened fire on a church funeral in Jordan. Nine people were killed.

Three gunmen attacked mourners at a funeral at St George's Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hamoud, in Jordan's Karak governorate. Nine people were killed and about 40 were wounded. Authorities call it an act of extremist terrorism, On October 26, Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects.

October 23, 2026 · 2 min read

Fraud · Troup County, Georgia

The church thought it was paying a partner it already knew. $60,000 went to scammers.

Deputies say scammers manipulated emails and set up look-alike accounts so a Troup County church sent $60,000 meant for an organization it already worked with. Two men now face fraud and money laundering charges. Investigators say getting the money back is unlikely.

October 21, 2026 · 2 min read

Facility · Huntersville, North Carolina

Hundreds of teens took over a church parking lot at 2 a.m. Then came the gunfire.

Surveillance video shows a large crowd, which the pastor says was mostly teenagers, taking over the Faith City Church parking lot overnight, doing burnouts and firing guns. The church says shell casings and damaged windows were left behind and that it was the third or fourth after-hours takeover. Police say the investigation is ongoing.

October 18, 2026 · 2 min read

Facility · Knoxville, Tennessee

The alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. Closed fire doors kept the flames in the foyer.

Fire investigators say a man broke into North Knoxville Baptist Church and set a fire near the front entrance. The alarm company alerted the pastor, cameras recorded the break-in, and the suspect was in custody within about 90 minutes. The pastor credits closed fire doors with saving the building.

October 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Security · Aurora, Illinois

A rifle in the parking lot, and a coworker who made the call

Police say a 19-year-old drove into the parking lot of a large Hindu temple near Chicago with an AR-style rifle on a festival Sunday, then left after his gun jammed. Two coworkers he messaged called 911, and he was arrested that evening. He is charged with making a terrorist threat.

October 11, 2026 · 2 min read

Threats · Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

A package at the worship entrance, a bomb squad, and services canceled

Staff arriving early at First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow found an unidentified package at the south worship entrance and called police. The Tulsa bomb squad took it away, no explosive was found, and police say it was not placed to cause harm. The church canceled Sunday services out of caution.

October 11, 2026 · 2 min read

Security · Gallatin, Missouri

Upset after the service, he refused to leave. Two off-duty deputies were in the room.

Authorities say a 66-year-old man became upset after a worship service at a Latter-day Saints church, shouted profanities and refused to leave, then grabbed a person around the neck and kicked people, including an off-duty deputy, as he was escorted out. Young children were nearby. He faces four misdemeanor charges.

October 11, 2026 · 2 min read

Fraud · United States and Australia

"I have a confidential request": the fake pastor scam is still working

Scammers are impersonating pastors, rectors and bishops in emails and texts to get church directories and talk members into buying gift cards. Warnings came from congregations and dioceses throughout 2026.

September 22, 2026 · 2 min read

Child Safety · Pawleys Island, South Carolina

A registered sex offender worked at a church school for years. Now its leaders face charges.

Police say a convicted sex offender worked as a custodian at Pawleys Island Community Church and its school for years while leaders kept his record from staff and parents. The former pastor, his wife and the academy director were charged.

July 20, 2026 · 2 min read

Fraud · Lee County, South Carolina

Seven years, $402,655 and one person with access to the church accounts

State agents charged the former treasurer of Mechanicsville United Methodist Church with breach of trust. Investigators say she made hundreds of personal purchases with church money from 2018 to 2025 and admitted to it.

July 6, 2026 · 2 min read

Facility · Brooklyn, New York

A landmark church from the 1850s, a lighter, and 18 minutes

The historic South Bushwick Reformed Church was destroyed by a three-alarm fire on June 19. Federal prosecutors say a man failed to get inside, bought a lighter at a nearby store, and came back to set the fire.

June 19, 2026 · 2 min read

Medical · Chattanooga, Tennessee

2 minutes, 57 seconds: how a church's emergency plan restarted a heart

When a man collapsed in cardiac arrest during Wednesday night Bible class at Central Church of Christ, members called 911, started CPR and delivered an AED shock in under three minutes. His pulse came back before police arrived.

June 3, 2026 · 2 min read

Threats · Las Cruces, New Mexico

Five rounds through the front doors before dawn, found by the first parishioner to arrive

Security video showed a man park in front of St. Genevieve Catholic Church at 4:27 a.m. and fire five shots into the sanctuary's glass doors. A parishioner found the damage before morning prayer. Police say the suspect later admitted he did it because of his religious beliefs.

May 4, 2026 · 2 min read

Medical · Branford, Connecticut

Easter Sunday, a fall at the door, and an AED bought just 15 months earlier

A 90-year-old member went into cardiac arrest while leaving Easter service at First Congregational Church of Branford. Parishioners started CPR, and nurse-midwives in the congregation used the church's new AED to bring him back.

April 5, 2026 · 2 min read

Threats · Hudson, Wisconsin

A written bomb threat, an 800-yard evacuation, and back to normal by noon

Faith Community Church received a written bomb threat on a Tuesday morning. Authorities evacuated everything within 800 yards, searched the building, and had a suspect in custody within about 2.5 hours. No device was found.

March 31, 2026 · 2 min read

Facility · Seymour, Tennessee

A driver's medical emergency sent an SUV through the sanctuary wall

A driver suffered a medical episode on U.S. 411, hit a pickup, and his SUV ended up inside the sanctuary of Ignite at the CrossRoad, shoving pews into the walls. Nobody was inside. The congregation held Easter in a tent.

March 24, 2026 · 2 min read

Security · Houston, Texas

A security volunteer spotted the gun before it cleared his pocket

At Eden Church in downtown Houston, a security team member recognized a man who had been asked to leave weeks earlier, watched him closely, and tackled him as he reached for a loaded revolver.

March 15, 2026 · 2 min read

Threats · Michigan City, Indiana

A 911 call reached police minutes before a man with explosives sat down in the back row

A woman with a protection order called 911 to warn that a man was heading to Full Gospel Church with explosives and a gun. Officers found him in the back of the sanctuary. Police say he was carrying multiple explosive devices.

March 11, 2026 · 2 min read

Security · Ellensburg, Washington

"Very close to a mass shooting": two officers in the pews made the difference

About 50 people were worshipping at Prophet Elijah Orthodox Church when an armed couple arrived. An off-duty officer and a retired officer in the congregation stepped in. Police later found a fully automatic rifle in the couple's SUV.

March 1, 2026 · 2 min read

Security · Kansas City, Missouri

Shots through the sanctuary wall during a funeral prayer

During a funeral for a homicide victim, gunfire from the street hit the front of New Beginning Apostolic Church. Four people were hurt, including an off-duty officer. A suspect was charged in April.

February 27, 2026 · 2 min read

Security · Sacramento, California

A parent volunteer at the door stopped an armed man from walking into a school Mass

During an all-school Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Mary Parish, a man asked to come in. An off-duty detective serving as a parent observer talked with him, found a loaded handgun and held him for police. Prosecutors later said notes at his home pointed to preparations for violence.

February 18, 2026 · 2 min read

Facility · Boonville, New York

Snow on the roof, a broken propane line, and a furnace that kicked on

Heavy snow made the roof of Abundant Life Fellowship sag and damaged a propane line. Gas filled the building, and when the furnace turned on, the church exploded with the pastor and four firefighters inside. All five survived. The building was destroyed.

February 17, 2026 · 2 min read

Child Safety · Grand Marais, Minnesota

He passed the background check. The warning signs were in the text messages.

A volunteer youth leader at Grand Marais Free Church had cleared a background check. After church members raised concerns about his messages with two teenage girls, the church reported him and barred him from the building. He was arrested and charged.

January 20, 2026 · 2 min read

Child Safety · Huntsville, Alabama

A church daycare worker of five years, a report to the state, and new rules for every classroom

Trinity United Methodist Church's child development center reported possible abuse by an employee to state child welfare officials. He was arrested two days later. The center then added a two-adult rule and moved every classroom to the front of the building.

January 20, 2026 · 2 min read

Security · Salt Lake City, Utah

A fight in the parking lot during a funeral left two men dead

While 150 to 200 people attended a funeral inside a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse, a dispute among attendees turned into a shootout in the parking lot. Two men were killed and six were hurt. A suspect was charged with murder in April.

January 7, 2026 · 2 min read

Threats · Highlands, North Carolina

Two hoax calls in two weeks shut down a mountain town around one church

A 911 caller claimed he had a gun and a bomb at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation and its daycare. Downtown, a school and two daycares locked down for hours before police called it a swatting hoax. Twelve days later, a second false threat hit the same block.

December 11, 2025 · 2 min read

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A rented funeral spilled onto the church steps. Minutes later, a man was shot.

Recent stories

Gunmen opened fire on a church funeral in Jordan. Nine people were killed.

The church thought it was paying a partner it already knew. $60,000 went to scammers.

Hundreds of teens took over a church parking lot at 2 a.m. Then came the gunfire.

How ready is your safety team?

The alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. Closed fire doors kept the flames in the foyer.

A rifle in the parking lot, and a coworker who made the call

A package at the worship entrance, a bomb squad, and services canceled

Upset after the service, he refused to leave. Two off-duty deputies were in the room.

"I have a confidential request": the fake pastor scam is still working

A registered sex offender worked at a church school for years. Now its leaders face charges.

Seven years, $402,655 and one person with access to the church accounts

A landmark church from the 1850s, a lighter, and 18 minutes

2 minutes, 57 seconds: how a church's emergency plan restarted a heart

Five rounds through the front doors before dawn, found by the first parishioner to arrive

Easter Sunday, a fall at the door, and an AED bought just 15 months earlier

A written bomb threat, an 800-yard evacuation, and back to normal by noon

A driver's medical emergency sent an SUV through the sanctuary wall

A security volunteer spotted the gun before it cleared his pocket

A 911 call reached police minutes before a man with explosives sat down in the back row

"Very close to a mass shooting": two officers in the pews made the difference

Shots through the sanctuary wall during a funeral prayer

A parent volunteer at the door stopped an armed man from walking into a school Mass

Snow on the roof, a broken propane line, and a furnace that kicked on

He passed the background check. The warning signs were in the text messages.

A church daycare worker of five years, a report to the state, and new rules for every classroom

A fight in the parking lot during a funeral left two men dead

Two hoax calls in two weeks shut down a mountain town around one church

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Your team has a story