On Sunday, a deadly shooting happened at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, tennessee, killing one woman and injuring seven people, FOX News reported. The FBI is investigating this incident and collecting possible evidence.
The FBI found the suspect
Officials feel American citizen Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, who immigrated from Sudan in the middle of the 1990s, is responsible for the shooting.
The young man had two pistols, there is no information if he used them both for the shooting though. Samson will be charged with weapons' possession, a murder, and several counts of attempted murder. He is remaining in the custody now.
Samson's motive for the shooting is still unclear. On his Facebook page, Samson shared shirtless photos, demonstrating his interest in bodybuilding. On Sunday morning, he posted some statements, questioning reality. In one of his posts, he wrote: "Become the creator instead of what's created."
How did the incident happen?
The weekly service starts at 10 a.m. local time on Sundays.
The shooting started at 11:15 a.m. when the service was ending, New York Times reported. There were about 50 eyewitnesses in the church. They said that Samson had attended this church a couple of years ago.
The eyewitnesses noted that the shooter had been wearing a mask when the incident happened. They stated that it was a clown mast, but officials claim that it was a ski mask. A female eyewitness Minerva Rosa said that Samson was keeping silent while shooting.
Robert Engle, 22, confronted the main suspect Samson, but suffered a head injury, as the police officers stated. The man took a pistol from his car and went to the church to stop the gunman from any movements, guarding him before the police arrived.
Engle is an usher and the police praised him, saying that Engle is an “extraordinarily brave individual.”
It is not clear if Samson shot the woman himself, or did it unintentionally fighting with Engle. Melanie Smith, 39, was killed near her car in the church parking lot. During the confrontation, Samson accidentally injured himself in the chest. Officials found a rifle and another pistol in his vehicle.
Samson left his SUV in the parking lot and went to the church. There he shot three women and three men. These six elderly people, who are church workers and churchgoers, are at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Their condition is stable and not life-threatening.