Richmond Road Baptist Killings Point to Troubling Trend

Churches seek help preventing more violence

When Beverly Gumm and her daughter, Christina Combs, were fatally shot at a small rural church in Lexington, Kentucky, they became the latest victims of a growing problem that is raising alarm among pastors, advocacy groups, and even the FBI.

Beverly Gumm, left, and her daughter, Christina Combs, were shot and killed July 13, 2025, at Richmond Baptist Church / Courtesy photo

That problem—a rise in violence targeting houses of worship—has spawned a cottage industry of organizations offering ways to keep churches safe.

Last Sunday, 47-year-old Guy House fled to Richmond Road Baptist Church after shooting and injuring a Kentucky state trooper at a traffic stop. Witnesses told the Lexington Herald-Leader that House entered the fellowship hall asking for one of Combs’ sisters, who was not present, then opened fire on family members. His rampage not only took the lives of Combs, 32, and her 72-year-old mother, but also wounded both women’s husbands, including Richmond Baptist Pastor Jerry Gumm.

House was then shot and killed by police, leaving the motive for his crime a mystery. The pastor and his son-in-law, Randy Combs, were hospitalized with bullet wounds, and at least one of them was reportedly in critical condition. The wounded trooper, Jude Remilien, was also hospitalized and recovering.

Attacks on Churches Spike

The Lexington attack comes less than a month after the CrossPointe Community Church shooting in Wayne, Michigan, and less than three months after Arizona pastor William Schonemann was murdered by a man with a hit list of 14 Christian leaders.

In June, CBS News reported that FBI data showed a nearly 100% rise in assaults or attacks against people at houses of worship between 2021 and 2023. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told CBS that investigators have intensified their focus on preventing such incidents.

“We want to shut that threat down by making sure that no one is feeling like churches, houses of worship, people of faith are soft targets in the United States,” Dhillon said. “That is why it’s a priority.”

The FBI data is corroborated by a Family Research Council analysis of 915 “acts of hostility” against Christian churches between January 2018 and November 2023. These acts included gun-related crimes and bomb threats as well as less serious offenses such as vandalism.

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“In 2023, the Family Research Council identified 436 incidents—more than double the number identified in 2022 and more than eight times the number identified in 2018,” wrote Arielle Del Turco, director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty. “These findings suggest that hostility against U.S. churches is not only on the rise but also accelerating.”

Conservative advocacy group CatholicVote has counted 511 attacks on U.S. Catholic churches since May 2020. The organization’s “Violence Tracker” indicates that most of these attacks were vandalism, such as writing graffiti or throwing bricks, and that many incidents were politically motivated.

“Attacks spiked dramatically after the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022,” the group said. “At least 346 attacks have been perpetrated against Catholic churches since the Supreme Court leak, with many including graffiti with pro-abortion messages.”

Security Agencies Find Niche Market: Churches

In a 2023 study by Lifeway Research, around 4 in 5 Protestant pastors reported having some type of security measure in place for services. More recently, WXYZ Detroit reported that many Michigan churches increased security training in the wake of the CrossPointe Community Church shooting, in which a gunman was thwarted by quick-acting security guards and a deacon.

Many clergy, however, feel unprepared and uncertain how to address this need.

“Faith leaders have had to contemplate this rare but horrific possibility of an active shooter in our houses of worship. It’s not covered in our seminary curricula,” said Rev. Dr. Katie Day during a recent “Gun Violence and Christian Ethics” webinar hosted by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA).

“Into this vacuum, church security training organizations began to proliferate. Faith leaders have been flocking to them,” Day said.

A simple web search brings up scores of companies targeting concerned churches.

Christian Executive Protection Service, for example, says its “number one priority is to serve God by providing security to all of God’s people.” It advertises “armed and unarmed protection as well as emergency preparedness for churches, businesses, and personal protection.”

Another agency, Church Security Solutions, warns of “the growing challenges facing churches: the statistics don’t look good.”

There is even a professional association, the Faith Based Security Network (FBSN), founded by Carl Chinn, one of the four hostages taken in 1996 when a gunman stormed Focus on the Family’s Colorado Springs headquarters.

According to the Center for Violence Prevention and Self Defense Training (CVPSD), the FBSN has gained over 800 members since its 2017 founding. The Christian nonprofit describes its purpose as “enhancing the professionalism and connectivity of ministry security operators along with supporting ministry leaders, law-enforcement, and first responders, plus professional affiliate providers of products and services.”

In an interview with the CVSD, Chinn called the hostage standoff his “wake-up call.”

“We are seeing more animosity toward faith-based organizations,” Chinn said. “There’s a cry for something more stable.”

Chinn believes the solution will not be found in politics but in empowering churches to protect their congregations.

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