The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office reported that they received multiple calls of an active shooter on Wednesday evening. Authorities responded to the Bond Holiness Church Fellowship Hall around 8 p.m. after agencies were "flooded" with several calls reporting an active shooter with no further information, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office reported.
Following an investigation, it was determined that no active shooter, and there were no injuries, causalities, or shots fired.
Immediately after the investigation, Sheriff’s Office posted on their social media in order to prevent panic in the community. Sheriff Isaacs posted, “This post is not to garner fear, or cause any public alarm to any citizen of Jackson County," JCSO wrote on social media. "This post is an effort in our part of being transparent to the public, and ensuring that public safety is at our utmost priority."
Reports on an active shooter were found to be unfounded, and no active shooter was ever present.
In an interview with the Jackson County Sun, Sheriff Isaacs provided more details regarding what led to the reports of an active shooter. His account serves as encouragement and illuminates a clear-headed approach to dealing with potential dangers in our modern world.
Apparently, two strangers were noted in attendance at the church service. The church has volunteer Security personnel who monitor and maintain vigilance during large gatherings to prevent incidents.
A Security Guard noted that, during the service, one of the strangers left the building alone. The Security Guard followed him outside and shadowed the stranger’s activity. The Guard reported that the individual got into a vehicle and retrieved something from a case. The stranger then was observed assembling whatever was in the case. The Guard thought it may be a rifle and also thought he heard a bullet being chambered. This triggered the 911 call to the Jackson County Dispatch who immediately notified the law enforcement agencies.
When Sheriff Isaacs arrived shortly after the 911 call, he engaged with the two strangers and questioned them regarding the reported activity. It turned out that these two individuals were “You Tubers” in the area visiting local YouTube celebrity, Dootsie Rose (Mrs. Rose has thousands of views on her YouTube site as she sings Gospel songs)
When they heard about the Bond Holiness Church meeting, they thought they might be able to record some video content from the event. The man who left the church during the service was heading to his car to retrieve their video equipment, which was stored in a case. He was setting up the video gear while in the vehicle. The two men completely understood why there was concern.
Everybody involved handled the situation perfectly, and this should serve as a real-life example of what to do and how to do it in a “better safe than sorry” situation.
The Church is to be applauded for having security personnel in place to monitor potentially dangerous circumstances.
The Security Guard was diligent but knew not to engage potential suspects alone, given the early indicators of a problem. Instead, the security guard contacted the law enforcement agencies only after obtaining what would be considered “probable cause” of a potential crime being committed.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, McKee Police Department, and other assisting law enforcement agencies responded very quickly.
The Kentucky State Police reached out to Sheriff Isaacs as he was on his way to the scene, indicating that their assistance was on the way.
The Rockcastle Sheriff’s Office reached out quickly as well, indicating they were en route to provide assistance.
The local volunteer fire & rescue departments had personnel that responded quickly as well.
Once these law enforcement agents arrived they conducted their investigation methodically and with “due process” to those accused. Before declaring these individuals guilty and potentially overreacting in what could have been a very serious situation, they gathered evidence to determine the exact nature of what had been observed and the accompanying factual explanation. The two strangers were completely innocent. There was no active shooter.
We genuinely have heroes in our community. Local churches, local citizens, local & regional law enforcement agency personnel, and local volunteer fire & rescue personnel are all to be commended in the way this potential danger was handled! Give everyone involved a round of applause, and if you see one, a good pat on the back!
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