There was an attempted mass shooting at a church in Michigan, and the anti-gunner lobby has been uncharacteristically silent.
The incident occurred on Sunday when an assailant drove his truck into CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, at around 11 a.m. The suspect, Brian Anthony Browning, 31, began opening fire outside the church while walking towards the entrance. He was wearing a tactical vest and was carrying a handgun and a long gun.
He hit one of the parishioners in the leg before another churchgoer hit Browning with his pickup truck, disrupting his attack. After this, two church staff members returned fire, killing the assailant.
The quick thinking of the church staff members likely prevented a much bigger catastrophe. The fact that they were armed is undoubtedly why Browning wasn’t able to kill anyone on that day.
Many churches have been using armed security to protect their congregations from potential active shooters. In fact, a 2023 survey conducted by Lifeway Research revealed that 54 percent of Protestant churches rely on armed church members for security. This is a significant increase from 2019, when 45 percent of churches noted that they used armed security.
Active shooter situation earlier today Crosspoint Community Church in Wayne, Michigan.
— Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) June 22, 2025
Initial reports say he drove a truck through the side of the church then opened fire. The killer was reportedly shot by a member of the church...#WayneMichigan #church #2nd #2a… pic.twitter.com/23wfQTj7LM
Of course, the reason why the anti-gunners are exercising their right to remain silent on this particular incident is obvious: It exposes one of their favorite arguments as a lie. Those who favor more onerous gun control restrictions often argue that there is no such thing as a “good guy with a gun” who can defend their lives and others when a crazed gunman decides to get froggy.
The reality is that armed civilians who are already on the scene when an active shooting situation occurs are more likely to stop the shooter than police officers, according to a recent Crime Prevention Research Center report.
The report, authored by economist John R. Lott and Professor Carlisle E. Moody, examined over 500 active shooter incidents and found that armed civilians stopped more mass shootings but also decreased the number of casualties more than law enforcement.
Pretty clear now that the armed individuals who stopped yesterday's attempted mass shooting were not professional licensed security, but ordinary civilians who volunteered to protect their church body as part of an organized and quasi-official team.https://t.co/0SCUKF3W4w pic.twitter.com/aQyTdm6Fnf
— Amy Swearer (@AmySwearer) June 23, 2025
The reason why is simple: It takes officers time to get to the scene while an armed civilian is already there. Moreover, uniformed police officers are easy for mass shooters to recognize. However, a civilian wearing regular clothes is harder to spot initially, giving them the edge. This is especially true if the assailant targeted a “gun-free zone” where they did not expect anyone to be carrying a firearm.
Yet, as I often point out, if the anti-gunners got their way, the armed staff members at CrossPointe either would not have been carrying firearms at the church, or they would have had to break the law in order to do so. In essence, the anti-gunners are more intent on targeting the people who can stop shootings than the ones actually trying to murder people, which is one of many reasons why these people should not be allowed to win.
