The Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit news organization based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2009 by venture capitalist John Thorton, it describes itself as the "only member-supported, digital-first, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues." It claims to have the largest statehouse news bureau in the United States, where it covers a wide range of topics, from public and higher education to health care, immigration, criminal justice, energy, and the environment. It also hosts The Texas Tribune Festival, which attracts thousands of attendees each year to discuss Texas' biggest challenges. Though the Tribune is billed as being non-partisan, its coverage often exhibits a slight liberal bias, particularly on immigration and political issues. It's in a national partnership with the Washington Post, which has an AllSides rating of Leans Left. While the Tribune relies on a mostly member-driven funding model, it also receives large corporate sponsorship and grants from organizations like the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Sources: Wikipedia TexasTribune.org
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KRUGERVILLE — Liberty Hill resident T.J. Wagner yelled commands at his friend James Johnson in an empty classroom at a building in North Texas earlier this month: “Face the wall! Feet apart! Hands behind your back!”
Within seconds, Wagner handcuffed Johnson, leading him out of the room with one hand gripping the metal cuffs and the other squeezing his right bicep to guide him out. Then, the two switched places and it was Johnson’s turn to detain his buddy.
The pair were among a group of several men from across the state who enrolled in a training program this month where they practiced combat moves, learned how to apprehend suspects and shot firearms.
But they weren’t training for law enforcement. They’re just men who are worried about their churches.
They’re preparing for the worst-case scenario, one where their congregations are the target of a mass shooting — something that was almost unthinkable a few years ago but has happened twice in Texas in the past three years.
In November 2017, a gunman opened fire inside First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, killing 26 people and injuring 20 more. And last month, days after Christmas, a shooter attacked the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, killing two people and injuring one before being fatally shot by Jack Wilson, an Army veteran and head of the church’s volunteer security team.
A few days before he left for the training seminar, Wagner said a few friends asked him, “Do you think you need security at church?”
A couple days later, the shooting at White Settlement church happened, and one of those friends later told him he was right to attend.