Security in the aftermath of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting

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Security Officer Stephen T. Johns was killed earlier this month when a gunmen opened fire at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this month, an 88-year-old gunman opened fire with a .22-caliber rifle at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., killing 39-year-old security guard Stephen T. Johns, who had been with the facility for six years.

The suspect was later identified as James W. von Brunn, a reported white supremacist with a history of violence. Von Brunn served six years in prison during the 1980s for attempting to kidnap several members of the Federal Reserve Board.

While no one could have predicted the alleged actions of Von Brunn, the incident does reinforce the need for Jewish centers and synagogues across the nation to evaluate their security plans and conduct risk assessments to make sure that they can minimize the risks associated with an active shooter scenario.

“The main lesson (from the Holocaust Museum shooting) is when you don’t have an incident of this magnitude occur very often, you tend to become complacent and the security protocols and procedures that you have in place and that you should be following on a daily basis, sometimes become lax,” said Richard “Dick” Raisler, director of community-wide security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. “This is a motivator for all the Jewish agencies and synagogues to maintain vigilance in their daily security operations.”

Raisler added that the incident also highlights the importance of having perimeter security to mitigate threats before they enter your facility.

“This incident just brings (the idea of layered security) to the forefront,” he said. You will find that many synagogues and Jewish facilities don’t have a full-time security officer because people have to multi-task. This will motivate them to make sure they stay on top of (security) operations that they should have in place.”

Raisler said that all Jewish community centers and places of worship should have a plan in place to deal with an active shooter scenario and train their employees on the proper protocols to follow during such an incident.