Fayetteville and New Jersey Cumberland Counties Launch Separate House-of-Worship Security Trainings

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in the Fayetteville area scheduled a free, 1.5-hour active-shooter training for church leaders and security personnel at the Sheriff’s Office Training Center, 4710 Corporation Drive off Tom Starling Road, with seating limited to 60 and registration through Sgt. Chris Taylor at 223-3323. Sgt. Chris Taylor, a member of the Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team and an instructor in the Training Section, was listed as the course lead; Sheriff Ennis Wright framed the class as part of a local response to the “incident earlier this month in Texas in which 24 worshippers were killed,” saying, “These type of events are happening, not only here in our country, but all over the world, so if we can teach our citizens one thing to keep them safe, I think that’s very important.”

In Cumberland County, New Jersey, Sheriff Michael Donato announced a separate House of Worship Security Training that county social posts timestamped Feb. 5 promoted through the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and the sheriff’s accounts. Retired New Jersey State Police Lieutenant Mark Rowe will conduct the NJ sessions; Rowe’s bio lists 34 years with the New Jersey State Police and the Vineland Police Department, roles as detective and crisis negotiator, ten years assigned to the Federal Fugitive Task Force, and retirement as Task Force Commander. The NJ curriculum advertised includes national and regional statistics, reviews of actual incident videos, characteristics and behaviors of armed individuals, intervening and detaining within houses of worship, training considerations for security teams, equipment recommendations, Run, Hide, Fight principles, and an overview of applying for a New Jersey Permit to Carry. Clergy, church leadership, and designated security team members were encouraged to contact Rowe at 856-451-4449 ext. 25146 or Markro@cumberlandcountynj.gov to reserve a spot while the Sheriff’s Office coordinates registration and full scheduling.

The two programs are distinct: Fayetteville’s initiative is run under Sheriff Ennis Wright with Sgt. Chris Taylor at a fixed training center address and a 60-seat limit, while the New Jersey program is organized under Sheriff Michael Donato with Mark Rowe as the instructor and an expanded curriculum that explicitly covers NJ permitting and video reviews. An original, incomplete report fragment included the claim that “demand from local congregations surged immediately after the announcement,” but that surge was not corroborated in the Fayetteville Observer or the NJ announcements; reporters and officials should be contacted for hard numbers to substantiate any surge in calls or sign-ups.

For congregations or security teams seeking details, Fayetteville-area leaders were asked to call Sgt. Chris Taylor at 223-3323 or the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office at 323-1500 about future sessions, while New Jersey houses of worship were directed to contact Mark Rowe at 856-451-4449 ext. 25146 or email Markro@cumberlandcountynj.gov to express interest and reserve space. Nancy McCleary of the Fayetteville Observer was listed as the local reporter on the Fayetteville item (nmccleary@fayobserver.com; 486-3568) for follow-up on the Fayetteville training.