NJ churches prep for mass shootings with ‘bleed control kits’

✝ NJ churches to get 'bleeding control kits'

✝ NJ Homeland Security officials say they will save lives in mass shooting events

✝ Initiative is not a response to any specific threat

Thousands of churches, mosques, temples and other houses of worship will be getting special 'bleeding control kits' from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP).

Officials announced the initiative as an "effort to improve active shooter incident survival at the state’s more than 6,400 houses of worship," and insist it is not a response to any specific threat.

The kits contain emergency medical supplies that can help victims of traumatic injuries survive massive blood loss than can lead to death.

NJOHSP Director Laurie Doran says she hopes no one ever has to use the kits.

“A victim, depending on the wound’s location and severity, may have five to eight minutes to slow blood loss," Doran said in a statement, "Quick action of bystanders can drastically improve the survivability of the wounded as they wait for first responder’s arrival. Equipping houses of worship and parishioners with vital training and lifesaving kits will better prepare them for an incident."

The NJOHSP claims mass gathering locations "remain an attractive target for domestic extremists and houses of worship are especially vulnerable due to easy access and limited security and protective measures.

Agency officials cite statistics from 2018 to 2022, where they say domestic extremists and homegrown violent extremists carried out 16 attacks on soft targets nationwide, resulting in 60 deaths and 66 injuries.

In total, 7,100 bleeding control kits will be distributed to more than 6,400 houses of worship in New Jersey.

Each kit contains basic items used to stop extreme hemorrhages and pneumothorax injuries and include:

➕ A combat application tourniquet
➕ A 4-inch emergency pressure bandage
➕ Compressed crinkle gauze
➕ 2 chest seals
➕ Medical gloves
➕ Trauma sheers

NJOHSP Deputy Director Dan Engelhardt said in a statement, "This program has been realized through the support and collaboration of many individuals and public- and private-sector partners who share a similar interest in enhancing preparedness efforts for New Jersey’s worshippers."

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