NOVI, Mich. — Two months after a gunman attacked a Church of Latter Day Saints in Grand Blanc Township and then set the building ablaze, Michigan State Police met with faith leaders on Wednesday in Novi to give them tips and resources to bolster their congregations' safety.

Dozens of faith leaders met at the Novi Police Department to learn how to respond to active shooters and other potential attacks. The training covered what to do in an attack, and state police officials also pointed to resources that could prevent potential attacks.

State Police Col. James Grady II said his agency held the training in response to demand from area faith leaders.

“Education is the key," said Grady. "You’ve got to start somewhere.”

In the Sept. 28 attack, Jake Sanford drove his truck into the church on McCandlish Road and opened fire on the congregation. Four people were killed, and the building was destroyed in a fire.

FBI's Detroit office said in video statement in late October that their investigation determined Sanford's attack was a "targeted act of violence believed to be motivated by the assailant's anti-religious beliefs against the Mormon religious community."

Grady said attacks against houses of worship have "been going on for some time now," referencing as early as Sept. 11, 2001.

"What we need to do as a community, as a state, is work together. I think that is the key every time is having a partnership, making sure that the information is shared," said Grady.

When it comes to preventing an attack, state police referred to their "Stop a Plot" webpage. It outlines common steps that lead to radicalization — including violent ideation stemming from a personal grievance — and offers a tipline for people to report potential threats.

Grady also said churches could take preventative measures outside the church to make an attack more difficult.

"You can talk about things like (concrete barricades), where you’ve got things set up in front of the church that would make it difficult to drive a vehicle into it, or some other attack to form there," Grady said.

If an attacker does make it into a church, its leaders need to know how to respond, Grady said. He said they should form partnerships with local first responders to make the response as seamless as possible.

As for the members of the congregation, State Police Sgt. David Williams told faith leaders that congregants should hinder an attacker by holding each of their limbs. They also should not hold the attacker's weapon once they are disarmed so that police don't shoot the wrong person when they arrive on scene.

"I've gone to a lot of pretty crazy scenes. My adrenaline is up. I'm like, 'Man, there's a shooter. I'm about to get engaged.' So give us every break you can," Williams said.

Williams also said they shouldn't be afraid to break windows to escape the building.

Rodney Ross of Faith Citadel in Detroit said attending Wednesday's training was an "absolute no-brainer."

“We do have a security team, and in past years, we have had active shooter training, but that’s kind of fell off at our church," Ross said. "However, with what’s going on in the world and the attacks that have been happening, we decided that we needed to reengage, because protecting our members and our congregation is very important to us.”

State Police would like to hold more of these conferences in the future, Grady said.

“We are actually looking for bigger sites so we can have more attendants at one location," Grady said. "So if someone is willing to partner with us, we would love to continue this training.”

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