Tony Wolfe, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, has released the following statement regarding the shooting incident today in its shared parking lot:
Tony Wolfe
“I could not be more thankful for our state, county, and local law enforcement officers who laid their lives on the line in response to today’s incident in our parking lot and at the building adjacent to ours. They were laser-focused on neutralizing the threat and protecting our S.C. Baptist staff and other residents and businesses in the area. Their response was rapid. Their organization was reassuring. Their communication was thoughtful. Their courage was heroic. Truly they are God’s servants for good (Romans 13:4).
“Additionally, S.C. Baptists can be proud of their staff, from every ministry assistant to every executive leader. As they sheltered for safety at the building today, they prayed for one another, for our neighbors next door, for responding law enforcement, and for others who may be affected by the incident. We were in the middle of church planter training at the building, so several prospective S.C. Baptist church planters witnessed not only the event, but the careful and prayerful response of our staff. Many of them commented on how calm, organized, and thoughtful your S.C. Baptist staff was during the event. You have a state convention staff that is relentlessly focused on the mission, with complete faith in God, even when their own personal lives are distressed.
“We live in a world that is deeply and desperately scarred by sin. Evil abounds. The good news of Jesus Christ is the message of hope for all who come to Him by faith. This message is both why and how we endure days of great trial and moments of great distress. As Christ’s people, we press in and press on so that our neighbors and the nations might know Him, and we do so with confidence in the God who holds tomorrow in His hands. He is “my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer … my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2).
Editor’s Note: Around noon today (July 18), there was an exchange of gunfire on Greystone Boulevard in Columbia between a gunman and law enforcement, but nobody was killed and the public is no longer in danger, according to The State newspaper. The gunman, who was shot in the upper body, was arrested at the scene and taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening wound. An officer was also injured during the incident.