Henry Catholic church to lock entrance doors when Mass begins

St. John Catholic Church in Henry announced this past weekend that the church will be locking its church doors once church service gets underway.
The church posted the announcement on its Facebook Page:
“It is so sad that we have come to this.....
Beginning this Saturday May 18, 2024, we will be locking the church doors at St. John the Evangelist church in Henry, as we have in the past, however, there will be NO late arrival entries and once you are in church and leave, you will NOT be allowed to re-enter. Sorry for this inconvenience but it is for the safety of everyone due to the recent incidents in various churches.
“PLEASE pass this message on to anyone you know that may attend our church in the future.”
The “recent incident” the church is alluding to is what happened at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church on May 11. A 16-year-old walked into the back of church and was greeted by a parishioner who was by the entrance of church. The 16-year-old had a pistol and eventually was asked by the parishioner to step outside of the church because of the pistol. It was later learned the 16-year-old also brought a rifle and placed it by the front door on the outside of the church.
The Abbeville Police Officers arrived and arrested and charged the 16-year-old.
The teen told police he was at the church to take his girlfriend, who was in the church, and they would run off and live together in Texas.
Abbeville Police Chief Mike Hardy said he did not think the teen was there to shoot anyone in the church.
Under the Facebook post by the church, some parishioners understood the reasoning for the locked doors, while others did not.
One person wrote, “Every church has different circumstances and will have to evaluate their own solutions. St. John’s doesn’t have many options. No police protection. The police were in Abbeville before anyone in church even realized something was happening. All because of precautions already installed and more is being planned. Praise to the mother with young children who first confronted the suspect and stopped him, and to the young father that disarmed him. Henry’s parishioners are elderly and certainly not able to confront anyone or conceal carry.”