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Shooting at Texas Church Leaves at Least 2 Dead and 1 Critically Wounded, Officials Say Shooting at Texas Church Leaves 2 Dead and 1 Critically Wounded, Officials Say
(about 2 hours later)
FORT WORTH — A gunman opened fire at a church in Texas on Sunday, killing one person and critically wounding another before a member of church security fatally shot him, the authorities and a witness said. WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas — A gunman opened fire at a church in Texas on Sunday morning, killing one person and critically wounding another before a member of the church’s security team fatally shot him, the authorities and witnesses said.
An elder at the church, West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, near Fort Worth, said a security team member was killed. Between 250 and 300 people were inside the auditorium of West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, near Fort Worth, when the gunman opened fire just before communion, said Jack Cummings, a minister at the church.
“He was trying to do what he needed to do to protect the rest of us,” the elder, Mike Tinius, said of the security member who died. Mr. Cummings said the gunman was “acting suspiciously” before the shooting and drew the attention of the church’s security team. A member of the security team was killed, he said.
“It’s extremely upsetting to see anyone committing violence,” he added. “They saved a lot of lives today,” Mr. Cummings said. “Because this thing would have been a massacre otherwise.”
Mr. Tinius said there were multiple trained people on the security team.. The team is made up of volunteers who are members of the church’s congregation. They are licensed to carry firearms and practice shooting regularly, Mr. Cummings said.
“This is quite obviously to us a random act that is disturbing,” Mr. Tinius said. “We are continuing to hold on to what we believe — that doesn’t change.” Mike Tinius, an elder at the church, said that he had known the member of the security team who was killed for more than 20 years.
He declined to identify the victims. “He was trying to do what he needed to do to protect the rest of us,” Mr. Tinius said, adding, “It’s extremely upsetting to see anyone committing violence.”
Macara Trusty, a spokeswoman for MedStar Mobile Healthcare, an ambulance provider, said one person was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Two other people were treated for minor injuries at the scene, she said.
The shooting was captured on a video of the service. The church regularly posts its services online.
The gunman can be seen standing to the side of the pews and firing toward other individuals who are standing. In a matter of seconds, three loud bangs can be heard. Congregants crouch down in their pews. After the third bang, the gunman slumps to the ground as congregants scream.
“He was immediately hit by one of our marksmen,” Mr. Cummings said. “The next thing I know, he was lying on the floor.”
It was not immediately clear whether there was a connection between the gunman and the church or if the church had been targeted.
“We are working very hard to find a motive, to get to the bottom of what happened,” Matthew J. DeSarno, the F.B.I.’s special agent in charge in Dallas, said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Cummings said the church has had a security team for about 10 to 15 years because of “the fact that people go into schools and shoot people.”
“We got a history in this nation of people doing this,” he said.
Hours after the shooting, police cars surrounded the church while a helicopter hovered overhead and people leaned over yellow police tape at a nearby Waffle House. Officers brought packages of bottled water as federal agents huddled in conversation.Hours after the shooting, police cars surrounded the church while a helicopter hovered overhead and people leaned over yellow police tape at a nearby Waffle House. Officers brought packages of bottled water as federal agents huddled in conversation.
Manny Ramirez, president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, said that his department sent multiple units to the scene, and that the sense of urgency was “multiplied a thousand times being in a church.” John Richardson, a congregant, said he had put his wife, who uses a wheelchair, on the ground and got on top of her after hearing gunfire. When he looked up, several members of church security had their guns drawn.
“We’re thankful it wasn’t worse. They potentially saved a lot of lives,” he said, referring to the church’s security team. “My heart goes out to his family,” he said of the gunman, adding, “I don’t have any hate for this person.”
The gunman was one of the two people who were killed, Macara Trusty, a spokeswoman for MedStar Mobile Healthcare, an ambulance provider, said. Another person was taken to a hospital in critical condition, she said. The police received reports of shots fired on Sunday morning, Mike Drivdahl, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department, said. Off-duty officers down the street quickly responded and found an active shooting scene, Mr. Drivdahl said.
Two other people were treated for minor injuries at the scene, she said.
The White Settlement church says on its website that visitors can “expect a worship assembly based on the New Testament,” including “a cappella singing, reading the Scripture, praying, and a biblically based sermon.”
The police received reports of shots fired at about 10 a.m., Mike Drivdahl, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department, said. Off-duty officers down the street quickly responded and found an active shooting scene, Mr. Drivdahl said.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Twitter that it was sending agents to the scene.The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Twitter that it was sending agents to the scene.
Ethan Barnhart, 26, said he was in his apartment, which faces the church’s back entrance, when the shooting happened. When he heard sirens, he went outside and saw multiple police agencies, fire department units and ambulances. The road in front of the church was shut down, he said. Last week at the West Freeway Church of Christ, congregants filled the wooden pews and sang together, according to a video of the service. Children ran to the stage to talk about why they were excited for Christmas, and after Brandon Kaag, a minister, spoke about the benefits of pruning parts of life that no longer bear fruit, the congregation broke into song again. The church ended the service on a note of accepting and giving love to others.
“I did not see or hear anything since it all happened inside the church,” Mr. Barnhart said. “Just sirens.”
“Places of worship are meant to be sacred, and I am grateful for the church members who acted quickly to take down the shooter and help prevent further loss of life,” Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said in a statement on Sunday.“Places of worship are meant to be sacred, and I am grateful for the church members who acted quickly to take down the shooter and help prevent further loss of life,” Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said in a statement on Sunday.
The New York Police Department and its Counterterrorism Bureau said on Twitter that they were monitoring developments in the church shooting. The department was already stepping up patrols after reports of eight anti-Semitic attacks in the city in the last two weeks.The New York Police Department and its Counterterrorism Bureau said on Twitter that they were monitoring developments in the church shooting. The department was already stepping up patrols after reports of eight anti-Semitic attacks in the city in the last two weeks.
On Saturday night, in Monsey, N.Y., in Rockland County, a man with a large knife burst into the home of a Hasidic rabbi, stabbing and wounding five people.On Saturday night, in Monsey, N.Y., in Rockland County, a man with a large knife burst into the home of a Hasidic rabbi, stabbing and wounding five people.
Churches and other houses of worship have been scenes of violence before. Churches in Texas have been scenes of violence before. In 1999, a gunman killed seven people and himself at a Baptist church in Fort Worth. In 2017, a gunman clad in all black, and with a ballistic vest strapped to his chest and a military-style rifle in his hands, opened fire at a small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, killing 26 people.
In 1999, a gunman killed seven people and himself at a Baptist church in Fort Worth.
In 2017, a gunman clad in all black, and with a ballistic vest strapped to his chest and a military-style rifle in his hands, opened fire at a small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 people.
In 2018, a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs opened fire inside a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11 congregants and wounding four police officers and two others, the authorities said.
And in April a gunman entered a California synagogue and opened fire, killing a 60-year-old woman and wounding three others.
A Texas bill that took effect in September allows licensed handgun owners to carry those weapons in churches, synagogues and other places of worship.A Texas bill that took effect in September allows licensed handgun owners to carry those weapons in churches, synagogues and other places of worship.
Patrick McGee reported from Fort Worth, and Jason M. Bailey and Mihir Zaveri from New York. Mariel Padilla, Christopher Mele and Vanessa Swales contributed reporting from New York, and Dave Montgomery from Austin, Texas. Patrick McGee reported from Fort Worth, and Mihir Zaveri from New York. Jason M. Bailey, Sandra E. Garcia, Christopher Mele, Mariel Padilla and Vanessa Swales contributed reporting from New York, and Dave Montgomery from Austin, Texas.