Security team quickly kills gunman after fatal shooting at Fort Worth-area church
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas – Church members acted quickly to take down a gunman who opened fire Sunday at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, authorities said.
The gunman fatally shot two people before two members of the congregation’s security team returned fire during a service at the church at 1900 S. Las Vegas Trail, White Settlement police Chief J.P. Bevering said. The gunman died at the scene, Bevering said. White Settlement is 10 miles west of Fort Worth.
The shooting appeared to happen during Communion, according to a livestream video of the service obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
A man was standing toward the back of the sanctuary holding a tray when the shooter got up from a nearby pew, walked toward the man and appeared to say something to him.
The gunman then backed up, pulled out a long gun and fired a shot toward a man who was seated nearby. He then fired a shot toward the man holding the tray.
A man in the back then pointed a handgun at the gunman and fired one shot. The gunman fell, and at least three or four more people armed with handguns walked toward the gunman.
The gunman was being watched by members of the church security team because of his appearance, said Mike Tinius, church elder. But Tinius would not elaborate what it was about the gunman’s appearance that attracted the attention of the church security personnel.
“By the sequence of events it should be assumed that he came in with an idea,” Tinius said.
The gunfire came without warning, said Tinius, who was at the church when the shooting took place. He had never seen the gunman before and could not think of a motive, Tinius said.
“Unfortunately this country has seen so many of these that we’ve actually gotten used to them at this point,” said Jeff Williams, a regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. “I would like to point out that we have a couple of heroic parishioners who stopped short of anything you can even imagine and saved countless lives. Our hearts are going out to them and their families as well.”
Authorities did not identify the victims nor the gunman. FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew Desarno said investigators were still determining a motive. The Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers is leading the investigation.
One of the victims died at the scene. The other was transported to a hospital in critical condition and died later, police said.
Two others were treated at the scene for minor injuries after they hit their heads ducking for cover, a MedStar spokeswoman said.
A Texas law went into effect in September 2017 that allows churches to hire armed guards. Attorney General Ken Paxton clarified months later that the law also allows licensed handgun owners to bring their firearms to church as long as the church does not oppose it.
The clarification was released in an opinion by Paxton after a November 2017 shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. Twenty-six people were fatally shot, and another 20 were wounded.