FORT WORTH, Texas _ The shooting at West Freeway Church of Christ happened minutes before a group of 20 children, all 8 years old or younger, would have been on the stage, a longtime church member told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Mary Nickel, who was unable to attend the service Sunday morning, said Senior Pastor Britt Farmer always invites the children on stage after communion and tithe offerings for "Coins for Christ."
The children deposit loose change and small bills into water jugs, like those found in office buildings, and sit on the stage for a few minutes while Farmer introduces the idea of the sermon in terms they can understand.
The gunman fatally shot two people before two members of the congregation's security team returned fire during a service at about 10:50 a.m., White Settlement Police Chief J.P. Bevering said.
Nickel said she couldn't imagine what would have happened if the shooting started during "Coins for Christ."
"I'm just so thankful our security team was able to stop them so quickly," Nickel said.
Nickel said she and most other church members didn't know they had a security team. But security in the building was obviously important, she said.
All doors at the church are locked before, during and after service, with someone standing guard the whole time, Nickel said. During Tuesday women's Bible studies, a secretary at the church watches security feeds and buzzes people in the front doors.
That doesn't stop the church from welcoming everybody, Nickel said.
"When you have somebody come to church you can't stereotype who comes in and tell them to leave, you want to accept everyone," she said.
