Local police and federal authorities worked Monday to determine why a man went on a deadly shooting spree at a Nashville-area church, while a shocked community prepared for prayer vigils for the victims and their families in the shooting’s aftermath.

One person was killed and seven others injured Sunday as services were wrapping up at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, near Nashville.

Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, of La Vergne, Tennessee, was charged with felony homicide and was being held without bond. Other charges are coming later, police said. His next court appearance is Wednesday.

The Justice Department and FBI have opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting, and police said they were still trying to establish the suspect’s motive.

Local police also requested the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to run an “urgent trace” on a firearm, an ATF representative told CNN.

The trace would give authorities an indication of where the gun was purchased, who purchased it and whether it was purchased legally, the ATF representative said.

Church members told police that Samson attended the church one to two years ago, Metropolitan Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron. But they had not seen him in a while and did not immediately recognize him because the gunman was masked.

Police initially said the suspect was African-American but later identified him as Sudanese with legal US residency.

From church parking lot to sanctuary

Samson “pulled into the church parking lot in a blue SUV. He is believed to have been there for at least several minutes before church let out,” the police said in a statement.

Samson shot and killed Melanie Crow Smith, 39, of Smyrna, Tennessee, as she was walking to her car in the parking lot, police said. She died at the scene.

The shooter then entered the church through the sanctuary’s main door with two pistols and “began indiscriminately shooting,” said Aaron, the police spokesman.

Minerva Rosa, who was inside the church when the shooting started, told reporters Sunday the gunman was silent when he opened fire.

About 50 people were still inside the sanctuary during the shooting.

Six people, ranging in age from 64 to 84, were wounded by gunfire, Aaron said.

One patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is in critical condition, the hospital said. It would not release the name.

Usher called ‘a hero’

Church usher Robert Caleb Engle, 22, saw the shooting and confronted the gunman, Aaron said. During a struggle, Engle was pistol-whipped and the gunman mistakenly shot himself.

“The wound sent Samson to the floor. Engle, despite his head injuries, ran out to his car in the parking lot and retrieved a pistol. He held Samson at gunpoint until police arrived,” a police statement said.

Police recovered four firearms believed to be Samson’s — two pistols in the church and a pistol and rifle from his SUV.

Without Engle, “I think it could be worse,” Rosa said. “He was a hero today.”

Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said Engle “stopped this madness, so we’re very, very, very grateful to him.”

“He’s the hero,” Anderson said.

Engle released a statement through the hospital where he was treated, saying he did not want to be labeled a hero.

“I’ve been going to this church my whole life, since I was a small child,” he said. “I would have never, ever thought something like this would have happened.”

He asked for prayers for the victims and their families, adding, “Please pray for the shooter, the shooter’s family and friends. They are hurting as well.”

He said, “The real heroes are the police, first responders and medical staff and doctors who have helped me and everyone affected.”

Community prayers

Prayer vigils will be held Monday to show support for the victims and their families.

One is set for 3 p.m. local (4 p.m. ET) at Woodmont Hills Church in Nashville, an event led by area religious leaders

“Nashville area pastors, ministers and shepherds, please join us for a time of prayer and unity,” the church said on its Facebook page. “If you are unable to attend, please join us in spirit.”

Another will be outside Burnette Chapel Church of Christ at 7 p.m. local time.

“We are beyond grateful for the enormous outpouring of love and compassion we have received from so many after the tragic event that took place yesterday,” the church said on its Facebook page Monday.

“We ask for your continued prayers and support during the coming days and months.”</s>The scene where people were injured when gunfire erupted at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, in Nashville. (Credit: Nashville Fire Dept.)

ABC News — One woman has been shot dead and six other churchgoers were wounded after a gunman opened fire Sunday morning at a Tennessee church as services were ending, authorities said.

The shooting at Burnett’s Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee, started in the church's parking lot, according to police and the Nashville Fire Department.

Nashville Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said emergency calls came in around 11:15 a.m. as services were letting out.

The shooter arrived in the parking lot and first fatally fired at a woman walking to her car, Aaron said. He then went inside the rear of the church and opened fire, setting off multiple rounds, wounding six people.

A church member who ran up and confronted the gunman was pistol-whipped by him, the police spokesman said. That church member then went to his car where he got his weapon to confront the gunman again.

The gunman then shot himself. His wound is not life-threatening, police said.

All seven of the wounded including the suspect were taken to area hopsitals, five of them to Vanderbilt Medical Center and one to Skyline Medical Center.

Police said they know the identity of the suspect and that he has no relationship to the congregation.

Vanderbilt Medical Center said in a statement after the shooting that its emergency medicine physicians and trauma center surgeons are caring for two critically injured gunshot victims, and another four individuals who are currently in stable condition.</s>ANTIOCH, Tenn. (AP) — Official in Tennessee says at least 6 people injured in church shooting outside Nashville.</s>ANTIOCH, TENNESSEE - Update 5:35 p.m.: Nashville police officers say the shooter, 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson, used to attend church at Burnette Chapel of Christ.

Officers say they are not aware of any children that were in the congregation service during the time of the shooting.

Police are calling the usher at the church the hero saving "countless lives" for confronting Samson during the incident.

Samson has been medically cleared to be released. Authorities say he'll go immediately into custody and be jailed tonight on one murder warrant and multiple attempted murder warrants.

Two victims of the shooting were the minister, Joey Spann, and his wife, Peggy. Joey is listed in critical condition at Vanderbilt.

Update 4:25 p.m.: Nashville police officers have identified the shooter as 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson.

Samson has been medically cleared to be released. Authorities say he'll go immediately into custody and be jailed tonight on one murder warrant and multiple attempted murder warrants.

Two victims of the shooting were the minister, Joey Spann, and his wife, Peggy.

22-year-old Robert Engle is the church's usher who physically confronted the shooter and is right now being considered the hero for confronting the shooter.

Update 3:05 p.m.: The shooter has been identified as a 26-year-old African American male from Rutherford County, according to authorities on the scene.

30 individuals are currently being interviewed about the incident. The gunman is at a hospital being treated for injuries.

Authorities say the gunman had pulled up to Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, exited his vehicle, and shot a woman in the parking lot. She was found dead at the scene. The gunman then entered the church as the congregation was getting ready to leave.

He began shooting. The church's usher went to his vehicle to get a weapon and confront the gunman.

After a struggle, the gunman then accidentally shot himself in the left side of his chest. The usher was then "pistol-whipped" by the gunman.

Authorities will be continuing to keep an eye on the conditions of the six others injured from the church.

The minister and wife are among those who were injured in the shooting.

Nashville and Tennessee leaders are sending prayers to the victims and families of the shooting.

We'll bring you more updates as we receive them.

 

 Previous story: One person was killed and seven others are wounded after a shooting at an Antioch church Sunday.

The shooter has been described as a Rutherford County man in his mid 20s. The man shot himself after he was confronted by an armed member of the congregation. The shooter is being treated at the hospital, according to Metro Nashville Police.

The gunman entered Burnette Chapel Church of Christ and shot three men and three women, Don Aaron, a police spokesman, said.

One man who confronted the shooter while inside the church was violently pistol whipped, Aaron said.

All victims, including the shooter, have been taken to area hospitals for treatment.

Two of the eight injured are listed in critical condition.</s>TENNESSEE – Police responded to a church shooting that injured eight people in Antioch, Tennessee.

Police received a call around 11:15 a.m. Sunday morning about shots being fired at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ.

Medical personnel are treating the injured churchgoers, said Nashville Fire Department. The shooter is among the wounded.

The injured, which are said to be majority older adults, were transported to local hospitals.

This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.</s>One person was killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a church Sunday in the southern U.S. state of Tennessee.

Six of those wounded were shot, while a seventh was pistol whipped, police said on Twitter. The woman who was killed died in the parking lot of the church.

The gunman was also injured and is currently in the hospital. No details were given about his condition or those of the shooting victims, who have not yet been identified.

All but one of the victims at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ was more than 60 years old, according to police.

The church is in Antioch - about 16 kilometers southeast of the state capital, Nashville.</s>The scene where people were injured when gunfire erupted at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. September 24, 2017. Nashville Fire Department/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - A woman was killed and at least six people were injured when a gunman opened fire at a church in Nashville on Sunday morning, officials said.

The woman died in the parking lot and medical officials were treating at least six wounded church-goers after the shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, according to the Nashville Police Department.

All but one of the wounded were over 60 years old and were being taken to nearby hospitals, Joseph Pleasant, a Nashville Fire Department spokesman, told Reuters. The gunman was among the wounded, according to Pleasant and the police.

The church is in Antioch, about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of downtown Nashville in Tennessee.

The church's pastor was shot in the chest and was being treated at a hospital, the WKRN television news channel reported, citing the pastor's son.</s>ANTIOCH, TENNESSEE - Update 4:25 p.m.: Nashville police officers have identified the shooter as 25-year-old Emmanuel Samson.

Update 3:05 p.m.: The shooter has been identified as a 26-year-old African American male from Rutherford County, according to authorities on the scene.

30 individuals are currently being interviewed about the incident. The gunman is at a hospital being treated for injuries.

Authorities say the gunman had pulled up to Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, exited his vehicle, and shot a woman in the parking lot. She was found dead at the scene. The gunman then entered the church as the congregation was getting ready to leave.

He began shooting. The church's usher went to his vehicle to get a weapon and confront the gunman.

After a struggle, the gunman then accidentally shot himself in the left side of his chest. The usher was then "pistol-whipped" by the gunman.

Authorities will be continuing to keep an eye on the conditions of the six others injured from the church.

The minister and wife are among those who were injured in the shooting.

Nashville and Tennessee leaders are sending prayers to the victims and families of the shooting.

We'll bring you more updates as we receive them.

 

 Previous story: One person was killed and seven others are wounded after a shooting at an Antioch church Sunday.

The shooter has been described as a Rutherford County man in his mid 20s. The man shot himself after he was confronted by an armed member of the congregation. The shooter is being treated at the hospital, according to Metro Nashville Police.

The gunman entered Burnette Chapel Church of Christ and shot three men and three women, Don Aaron, a police spokesman, said.

One man who confronted the shooter while inside the church was violently pistol whipped, Aaron said.

All victims, including the shooter, have been taken to area hospitals for treatment.

Two of the eight injured are listed in critical condition.</s>(CNN) — A gunman opened fire at a church in Tennessee on Sunday, killing one person and injuring seven others, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said.

The Department of Justice and the FBI have opened a federal civil rights investigation of the shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, a neighborhood in Davidson County governed by Nashville.

The first call reporting multiple gunshots came in around 11:15 a.m. CT, police spokesman Don Aaron said. The gunman shot Melanie Smith, 39, as church was letting out before entering the church with two pistols and continuing to shoot.

Suspect Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, was hospitalized for gunshot wounds and released to police custody. He will be charged with one count of murder Sunday night and additional charges later on, police said.

Authorities are still investigating a potential motive for the shooting, MNPD chief Steve Anderson said.

The gunman was in the church’s parking lot as a prayer service was letting out, Aaron said. He shot and killed Smith as she was walking to her car.

He entered the church through the sanctuary’s main door and “began indiscriminately shooting,” Aaron said. There were approximately 50 people still inside the sanctuary when the shooting began. Six were wounded by gunfire and another was pistol whipped, Aaron said.

A church usher identified as 22-year-old Robert Engle saw the shooting and confronted the gunman, Aaron said. During a struggle, the gunman mistakenly shot himself.

“It would appear he was not expecting a brave individual like the church usher to initiate the struggle and confrontation,” Aaron said.

Police initially said the suspect was African-American. Later, police identified him as Sudanese with legal US residency.

Church members told police that Samson attended the church one to two years ago, Aaron said. But they had not seen him in a while and did not immediately identify him as the shooter because the gunman was masked.

Local police also requested the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to run an “urgent trace” on a firearm, an ATF spokesperson told CNN.

The trace would give authorities an indication of where the gun was purchased, who purchased it and whether it was purchased legally, the spokesperson said.

Nashville mayor Megan Barry said in a tweet that the shooting was “a terrible tragedy for our city.”

“My heart aches for the family and friends of the deceased as well as for the wounded victims and their loved ones,” she said. “Their lives have been forever changed, as has the life of their faith community at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ.”

Minerva Rosa, who was inside the church when the shooting started, told reporters Sunday the gunman was silent as he opened fire.

“He don’t say nothing,” she said.

Without Engle, the usher who tackled the gunman, “I think it could be worse,” she said. “He was a hero today.”

MNPD chief Anderson echoed the sentiment in a later press conference.

“He’s the hero,” Anderson said. “He’s the person that stopped this madness, so we’re very, very, very grateful to him.”

Engle released a statement Monday night through the hospital where he was treated.

“I’ve been going to this church my whole life, since I was a small child,” he said. “I would have never, ever thought something like this would have happened.” He asked for prayers for the victims and their families, adding, “please pray for the shooter, the shooter’s family and friends. They are hurting as well.”

Engle said he did not wanted to be labeled a hero. “The real heroes are the police, first responders and medical staff and doctors who have helped me and everyone affected.”

Joe Love, a man who lives near the church, did not see the shooting, but told CNN affiliate WKRN he became aware of it when a frantic man and his wife who had both been inside the church came to his door on Sunday.

“The guy shot at them, but they was able to get out,” Love said. The couple was not hit.

Love said he raced over to the church, but the gunman had already shot himself. He recognized the woman who was killed in the parking lot, he said.

“Every time that church door open … that young woman was there,” said Love, who is not a parishioner.

“The deceased woman’s sister, she run to her car, and I helped her cover her sister up with some towels so she wouldn’t be disgraced anymore,” Love told WKRN.

This story has been updated to include more details from the police regarding the suspect’s background.</s>NASHVILLE — A Bible lay on the ground Sunday near where a worshiper was earlier shot dead outside her Tennessee church, allegedly by a former member of the same congregation.

The shooting took place the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, a neighborhood in Davidson County governed by Nashville.

A gunman in the church parking lot shot and killed Melanie Smith, 39, as she was walking to her car when a prayer service was letting out.

The shooter then entered the church through the sanctuary’s main door with two pistols and “began indiscriminately shooting,” Metropolitan Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said.

There were approximately 50 people still inside the sanctuary when the shooting began. Six were wounded by gunfire and another was pistol-whipped, Aaron said.

Church usher Robert Engle, 22, saw the shooting and confronted the gunman, Aaron said. During a struggle, the gunman mistakenly shot himself.

“It would appear he was not expecting a brave individual like the church usher to initiate the struggle and confrontation,” Aaron said.

Suspect Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, was hospitalized for gunshot wounds and released to police custody.

He was charged with felony homicide and was being held without bond, police said. Other charges are coming later, according to police. His next court appearance is Wednesday.

The Department of Justice and the FBI have opened a federal civil rights investigation of the shooting and police said they were still trying to establish the gunman’s motive.

Local police also requested the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to run an “urgent trace” on a firearm, an ATF spokesperson told CNN.

The trace would give authorities an indication of where the gun was purchased, who purchased it and whether it was purchased legally, the spokesperson said.

Police initially said the suspect was African-American. Later, police identified him as Sudanese with legal US residency.

Church members told police that Samson attended the church one to two years ago, Aaron said. But they had not seen him in a while and did not immediately identify him as the shooter because the gunman was masked.

Minerva Rosa, who was inside the church when the shooting started, told reporters Sunday the gunman was silent when he opened fire.

Without Engle, the usher who tackled the gunman, “I think it could be worse,” she said. “He was a hero today.”

“He’s the hero,” Anderson said. “He’s the person that stopped this madness, so we’re very, very, very grateful to him.”

Engle released a statement through the hospital where he was treated.

“I’ve been going to this church my whole life, since I was a small child,” he said. “I would have never, ever thought something like this would have happened.”

He asked for prayers for the victims and their families, adding, “please pray for the shooter, the shooter’s family and friends. They are hurting as well.”

Engle said he did not wanted to be labeled a hero. “The real heroes are the police, first responders and medical staff and doctors who have helped me and everyone affected.”

Nashville mayor Megan Barry said in a tweet that the shooting was “a terrible tragedy for our city.”

“My heart aches for the family and friends of the deceased as well as for the wounded victims and their loved ones,” she said. “Their lives have been forever changed, as has the life of their faith community at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ.”

The first call reporting multiple gunshots came in around 11:15 a.m. CT, police said.

Joe Love, a man who lives near the church but did not see the shooting, told CNN affiliate WKRN that he became aware of it when a frantic man and his wife who had both been inside the church came to his door on Sunday.

“The guy shot at them,” but they were able to flee, said Love, who is not a parishioner. The two weren’t hit.

Love said he raced over to the church, and the gunman had already shot himself. He said he recognized the slain woman; she was a familiar face at the church.

Love said he helped the victim’s sister cover up the deceased woman with towels “so she wouldn’t be disgraced anymore,” Love told WKRN.

A church member who walked CNN through the parking lot overnight pointed to a green SUV that Smith fell against after she was shot, breaking its mirror.

Another SUV in the carpark belonged to two shooting survivors, the parishioner said. A Bible on the ground had been Smith’s.

There will be a vigil for victims at the church Monday at 7 p.m. local (8 p.m. ET).
A shooting at a church in Nashville, Tennessee, leaves one dead and seven injured. The suspected shooter is arrested.