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Fort Wayne News-Sentinel/TNS/ABACA

Two dead in Texas shooting after gunman opens fire in church

The attacker was shot by a member of the congregation.

A GUNMAN OPENED fire in a church in Texas, killing two people before being shot dead by a member of the congregation. 

The attack took place in the suburban Fort Worth community of White Settlement yesterday morning when the gunman entered West Freeway Church of Christ, officials said.

“A couple of members of the church returned fire, striking the suspect who died at the scene,” White Settlement Police Chief JP Bevering told reporters.

He praised the “heroic actions of those parishioners” for ending the threat, although he said one of the suspect’s victims died at a local hospital. 

A second parishioner later died, authorities told reporters at an evening news conference.

The FBI said it was working to find a motive for the attack.

“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,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement.

“Our hearts go out to the victims and families of those killed in the evil act of violence that occurred at the West Freeway Church of Christ,” he added.

The church regularly posts its services online and a video of the attack was livestreamed on their website.

Guns kill about 36,000 people a year in the United States – one of the most heavily armed countries in the world – through suicides, homicides, police-involved shootings and accidents.

The country has lived through a sharp rise in mass shootings in recent years, alarming the public and triggering debate on how to control the violence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will only bring a gun bill to the floor if it has presidential backing, but President Donald Trump has given no clear preference.

In November 2017 a gunman shot dead 26 worshippers during a service at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, outside San Antonio.

Almost a year later, in October 2018, an anti-Semitic shooter killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

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    Mute Pat Casey
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    Feb 21st 2022, 8:10 AM

    A big thank you to the ESB crews out there working in atrocious conditions to get power reconnected around the country.

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    Mute ed w
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    Feb 21st 2022, 2:19 PM

    @Pat Casey: definitely. but powercheck just said my house has gone from the power due back at 12.30pm to 10pm hope they get it on a bit sooner !

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    Mute Barty
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    Feb 21st 2022, 8:20 AM

    Strongest winds out of the three storms goes to Franklin.

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    Mute Gabriel Holmes
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    Feb 21st 2022, 8:32 AM

    @Barty: Depends on were you are.

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    Mute saoirse janneau
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    Feb 21st 2022, 8:34 AM

    @Barty: definitely. Wind from the NW is the new norm.

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    Mute ed w
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    Feb 21st 2022, 11:39 AM

    @Gabriel Holmes: nope, highest recorded mean wind speeds were higher at 107kmh for mace head vs 93kmh roches point for eunice.

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    Mute Joe_X
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    Feb 21st 2022, 2:53 PM

    @Barty: definitely but were Met Eireann caught on the hop? We seemed to have a couple days notice Dudley and Eunice, but there seemed to be no mention of Franklin until after it had made landfall! Was it how it did not affect the east coast or what that they took their eyes off the ball!

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    Mute Shane Fleming
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    Feb 21st 2022, 8:05 PM

    @Barty: Not in Kerry it wasn’t. Friday morning was absolutely horrendous.

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    Mute Locutus Of Borg
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    Feb 21st 2022, 1:43 PM

    A big shout out to those poor souls relying on electric heat pumps to heat their homes. It must be freezing with no power

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    Mute Darren Byrne
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    Feb 21st 2022, 2:56 PM

    @Locutus Of Borg: I’d imagine any system that is relying on a pump to push hot water around the radiators in a house is going to have a problem.

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    Mute Reuben Gray
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    Feb 21st 2022, 3:01 PM

    @Locutus Of Borg: As opposed to a gas boiler which requires no electricity at all and runs on magic?

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    Mute Locutus Of Borg
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    Feb 21st 2022, 3:28 PM

    @Reuben Gray: well I was thinking more along the lines of those who built houses last year or had houses builtl for them and were denied the opportunity to put in a chimney to allow for the use of a stove or open fire so as to at least have a fire to sit around when the inevitable power outages do happen

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    Mute Quiet Goer
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    Feb 21st 2022, 3:15 PM

    Global warming

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