Religious schools like Annunciation face security challenges

CNN —

When evaluating how secure a location is, experts generally talk about "soft" targets like schools or "hard" targets like police stations.

The deadly shooting in Minneapolis – at a combined church and school – was at the extreme end of that spectrum.

Video above: Minneapolis shooter "wanted to kill children," authorities say

"Certainly houses of worship and schools are the softest of soft targets, and (the shooter) knew that clearly," said Donell Harvin, former DC Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence.

The attack at Annunciation Catholic Church while schoolchildren gathered for morning Mass underscored the particular security challenges that religious schools face in the age of the school shooting. These hybrid institutions have to balance the need for secure school gr