CrossPointe Church security guard who shot at gunman says "10 years of training led to this moment"
Quick reactions by the security team and a church member in the parking lot are attributed to limiting the danger of a gunman on campus Sunday at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan.
The suspect, Brian Anthony Browning, 31, of Romulus, was killed at the scene. He was wearing a tactical vest, armed with an AR-15 style rifle and a semiautomatic handgun.
The sound of gunfire sent those who were inside for a morning service running for safety.
"It was all handled by our security and safety team, which was a blessing to have in place, and we've had that for several years now," Pastor Bobby Kelly Jr. said Monday.
Also on Monday, Jay Trombley, one of the security team members, relayed what he saw outside. The scene he described was of multiple staff and church members realizing about the same time, that a dangerous situation had erupted, with the combined efforts resulting in the shooting death of the suspect, families kept safe and law enforcement quickly responding.
Trombley said he was inside the building, while another security team member happened to be outside at the time the gunman approached.
The security team has participated in numerous in-house and off-site training workshops on protecting worship sites, relying on the expertise of local law enforcement and firearms experts. One of those training sessions, which he described as a refresher for the team, took place just last week.
"If you train enough, it's just muscle memory. You don't think about it," Trombley said. "Yes, 10 years of training led to this moment."
In this case, Trombley said he learned of the threat as gunshots were heard and a woman ran inside with her family, saying she had seen a weapon. He took a look outside the door to see what was going on. Bullets were ringing as another security team member tried to take cover around an air conditioning unit.
Bullet holes were seen later around the air conditioning unit.
In the meantime, another church member who was in the parking lot realized there was a danger and struck the suspect with his Ford F-150 truck.
What wasn't clear at first was that two of the three security team members on duty that day were trying to deal with the shooter, according to Trombley's account. He and the other team members were in different locations. The team member who was outside was injured in the shooting.
But Trombley realized the shooter saw him.
"I looked down the barrel at one point," he recalled.
The suspect fell.
After the suspect went down, Trombley went toward the man, covered him with his firearm, and was able to push both the rifle and handgun away from the suspect. Trombley thought at first that his weapon took down the suspect, but he has since learned that detail is under investigation. It could have been the other security member who was already outside.
"I haven't heard official news from the law enforcement on who may have actually taken the shot," Trombley said.
Gunfire aside, he appreciated the efforts of the church member with the vehicle.
"We were carrying firearms and he was driving an F-150 and, you know, it worked just as well as what we had," Trombley said about the vehicle assault.
In the aftermath, Trombley said he learned this may have been the first attempted shooting at a church in the United States where the only fatality was the shooter.
The suspect's mother is a member of the church. He had attended services there two or three times in the past year, and the pastor recalled speaking with him on one occasion.
He did not have a criminal history or previous contacts with the Wayne Police Department.
"We are extremely encouraged by the response from several local churches, grief counseling agencies who have reached out to assist. We will be taking advantage of as much as we can to help us move forward. But most importantly, thank you for all of your many prayers. They are much needed at this time," the church said in an official statement later.
The incident remains under investigation.
