Some armed citizens guard military recruiters in Texas

Jerry Blakeney stands guard with other members of Operation Hero Guard outside a U.S. military recruiting station in Cleburne, Texas, Tuesday, July 21, 2015. Gun-toting citizens are showing up at military recruiting centers around the country, saying they plan to protect recruiters following last week’s killing of four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, Tenn. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES Jerry Blakeney stands guard with other members of Operation Hero Guard outside a U.S. military recruiting station in Cleburne, Texas, Tuesday, July 21, 2015. Gun-toting citizens are showing up at military recruiting centers around the country, saying they plan to protect recruiters following last week’s killing of four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, Tenn. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES

By Associated Press July 22, 2015 1 min read

CLEBURNE, Texas (AP) – Some volunteers in Texas have taken up arms to protect U.S. military recruiting sites after five servicemen were slain last week in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Military personnel on American bases and recruiting centers are not allowed to be armed, so some civilians are standing guard on their own at Texas sites.

Some armed volunteers in Cleburne, 30 miles south of Fort Worth, continued their unofficial duty Wednesday. They call themselves Operation Hero Guard in the protective effort that began Monday. They’ve displayed a sign that says “Protect Our Troops.”

Several men with rifles joined forces Tuesday outside a recruiting center in McAllen. Orlando Perez told KRGV-TV that he was helping protect the U.S. military because “they’re not allowed to protect themselves.”

The suspected gunman in Chattanooga died in a police shootout.