threat – SemperVerus

Preparation Warnings from Former CIA Analyst, Sarah Adams

Sarah Adams is an award-winning CIA targeting officer and global threat advisor with extensive domestic and international experience. Ms. Adams held positions in the government and non-profit sectors and has worked overseas on behalf of the US government’s intelligence mission in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. She is the co-author of Benghazi: Know Thy Enemy.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, 2025 Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community ]

Her frequent posts on X concern current events and offer insightful observations on the terrorism threat landscape worldwide. She posted the following caution and preparation warning on X Oct 13, 2025, the day President Trump declared the war in Gaza was over and the terrorist cabal Hamas finally freed the last living 20 Israeli hostages:

By semperverus
Posted on 10/16/202510/21/2025

AlertMedia’s October 2025 Quarterly Threat Review

AlertMedia helps organizations respond to critical events with emergency communication solutions. It’s Global Intelligence Team monitors global threats 24/7/365.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness Self-Defense: Seeing Temptation as a Threat ]

After tracking threats between July 2025 and September 2025, its October 2025 Quarterly Threat Review analyzes 5 critical events during that period with significant and lasting impacts.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

Its focus is primarily businesses, but by extension, can be applied to general self-defense environmental situational awareness and public safety in the church security arena, providing insights into how similar threats might affect their operations—and how to prepare.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A List of Active Killer Incidents at Houses of Worship and Religious Schools ]

Here are the 5 analyses with brief annotations:

By semperverus
Posted on 10/14/202510/21/2025

Mitigating Attacks on Houses of Worship Security Guide

Terrorists, criminals, anarchists, and disrupters are attacking houses of worship (HoW). They assume HoW are soft targets; gun-free zones where media coverage and notoriety can be easily achieved through defenseless active killing.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A List of Active Killer Incidents at Houses of Worship and Religious Schools ]

In response, more HoW are establishing and training their own armed volunteer security teams.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Enroll in the Sheepdog Church Security Academy Safety Member Certification Program ]

One resource for these teams is the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)‘s 116-page PDF, Mitigating Attacks on Houses of Worship Security Guide.

By semperverus
Posted on 10/08/202510/21/2025

A List of Active Killer Incidents at Houses of Worship and Religious Schools

Photo credit: David von Diemar, https://unsplash.com/@davidvondiemar Some people in leadership at churches still question why it’s necessary to have an armed and trained church security/safety team as part of their dedicated ministry efforts. The following list should be reason enough:

[ Bookmark the SemperVerus CHURCH SECURITY INTELLIGENCE CLIPBOARD ]

• Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington, DC, Oct. 5, 2025
A 41-year-old New Jersey man—found to have 200 explosive devices in his possession—was arrested and charged with unlawful entry, threats to kidnap or injure a person, and possession of a Molotov cocktail outside this Catholic church ahead of the high-profile annual Red Mass meant to mark the start of the Supreme Court term. No justice attended this year’s event.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The Swiss Guard: Early Church Security Team ]

• Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, Manchester, UK, Oct. 1, 2025 (Yom Kippur)
A man, wearing a vest that looked like an “explosive device,” used his car and knife in an attack outside a synagogue on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, killing two people and injuring four others. The attacker was prevented from entering the synagogue by worshippers, security staff, and police.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Criminals and Terrorists Overwhelmingly Select Gun-Free Zones For Mass Attacks in Public Spaces ]

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, Sept. 28, 2025
A 40-year-old man (US Marine Corps veteran) rammed his truck into the meetinghouse and began shooting. He then set the building ablaze before he was killed in a shootout with police. Four people died and eight others were injured. The congregation did not have a dedicated security team. (Also see Wikipedia’s List of Attacks Against Latter-Day Saint Churches.)