The shooting at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills was the 235th shooting in Alabama that resulted in death since the beginning of 2022.

Local leaders know that the safety of the community is important and they’re addressing security in the wake of this gun violence.

Athens Police Department’s Chief Floyd Johnson said, “Our department monitors situations occurring in our region, and because of this shooting, I have increased patrols around churches, especially during service times.”

According to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks shootings across the nation, there was another shooting on Thursday that resulted in death in Mobile. Two-hundred sixty-six people have died since the beginning of year from shootings in the state.

Athens mayor, Ronnie Marks, said it’s heartbreaking.

“It’s something that’s very sad to think that we are at this much social unrest,” Marks said.

Churches are preparing protective measures for these incidents. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church was just the most recent in a house of worship. Friday, June 17, was the 7th anniversary of the shooting at a church in Charleston whose victims became known as the Emanuel Nine. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church spoke at a commemorative event for the nine on Friday.

The Episcopal church has taken a stance on gun violence in the past. On May 24, the church released a statement reiterating a call for legislation “that will restrict who can own firearms, require background checks, eliminate loopholes, tighten laws against gun trafficking, require gun safety training, fund gun violence prevention programs, and address gun violence as a public health crisis.”

“It’s so important for every church to at least discuss and to have some kind of plan that hopefully we never have to use,” Pastor CW Kennedy from Madison Street Baptist Church said. “My heart breaks for innocent people who are the victims of deranged individuals. My personal opinion is there is an evil element that is behind the scenes of each shooter,” Pastor Kennedy said.

Police said at St. Stephen’s on Thursday the gunman was held by someone at the church until police arrived, according to the Associated Press. Pastor Kennedy described some of the work his church has done to prepare for an incident like this. He said some of the men of his church do carry and have gone through gun safety trainings with law enforcement.

“We do have certain code words that we would use if people needed to get down or exit the scene,” he said.

Chief Johnson said his officers are prepared to help as well.

“We continuously train and plan for various public safety emergencies, and while I see the need to make the public feel safe in church, I will not provide information about our response tactics to any situation like this,” Johnson said. “That would tell offenders what to expect from us.”

He also added church leaders are welcome to contact him or Captain Anthony Pressnell to set up a time to meet to discuss safety precautions.

Limestone County Sheriff Josh McLaughlin said he was in talks with the Cullman County Sheriff about getting Limestone deputies certified as ALICE training instructors so that they can in turn provide that training to community leaders.

ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) Training is the leading program for response to violent critical incidents, according to an event page that advertises trainings in Cullman County.

“The mission of ALICE is to save lives. Our training program empowers individuals to participate in their own survival using proactive options-based response strategies when faced with violence,” the event page reads.

That training is planned for Monday and Tuesday, June 20-21. The training does come at a cost of $749, but Sheriff McLaughlin said he hopes his deputies will be able to provid ALICE training for free to the community.

“We’ve been blessed with a good training facility. We’ve been blessed with a range through support from our community, and I just feel like it’d be a good way to give back to our community,” Sheriff McLaughlin said.

In addition to preventative training, Mayor Marks said that he wants people to emphasize the importance of mental health services and facilities to their state and federal leaders.

“If we can’t address some of those major issues, I’m afraid we’re gonna continue to have problems throughout this country,” Marks said.