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

What happened

About ten minutes into Wednesday night Bible class on June 3, 2026, at Central Church of Christ in Chattanooga, 64-year-old Keith Braud went into cardiac arrest and collapsed next to his wife, Elizabeth.

The Christian Chronicle reconstructed what happened next, almost second by second. Registered nurse Evan Johnson reached him within seconds. At the same time, church secretary Robin Large ran to get the AED from the kitchen, and another member called 911. About 1 minute and 28 seconds after the first alert, the responders confirmed he had no pulse and started CPR. Physical therapist Rachel Neill and Tabitha Gibbs set up the AED. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, it delivered a shock. CPR continued, and Braud’s pulse returned. That was about 2 minutes and 57 seconds after he collapsed.

Police arrived about two minutes later, followed by EMS. Meanwhile, about 20 members had stepped outside and formed a prayer circle on the sidewalk, leaving room for the responders. A week later, Braud was well enough to go home to Georgia.

The Chronicle credits the church’s written emergency response plan for this result.

What safety teams can take from it

• The AED is only as good as its location. Everyone knew where it was, and it arrived in under two minutes. Mount it somewhere central and visible, put up signs, and time how long it takes to bring it to your farthest room.
• Assign roles before the emergency. Call 911, get the AED, start compressions, meet EMS at the door. In this case, each job had a person within seconds. Write those roles into your plan and run drills on them.
• Clear the room. Members gave the responders space instead of crowding them. Your plan should say who moves the crowd and where they go.
• Every gathering counts. This was a midweek class, not the Sunday service. Make sure trained people and an AED are on hand whenever the building is in use.
• Check your equipment monthly. Look at the AED’s status light, pad expiration dates and battery. A device that fails a self-test is worse than none, because people will count on it.