Church shooting in Tarrant County - White Settlement

[n5wmk]

https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2019/12/29/2-d ... nt-church/

WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Two people are dead and another person is critically injured after a shooting at a church in the Tarrant County city of White Settlement, authorities said.

Authorities responded to the shooting Sunday morning just before 10 a.m. at the West Freeway Church of Christ on Las Vegas Trail.

A witness told CBS 11 News the gunman walked up to a server during communion with a shotgun and then opened fire. According to the witness, another church member shot the suspect.

“It was the most scariest thing. You feel like your life is flashing before you. I was so worried about my little one,” Isabel Arreola said.

During the incident, two men died from their injuries and another man was critically injured. Authorities believe the gunman is among the three but it’s unknown if he was killed or is injured.

The identities of the victims have not yet been released.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Praying for all involved - hope none on this forum are among the injured.

[n5wmk]

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local ... 327b463848

At least two people killed, one person in critical condition after shooting at White Settlement church

Fort Worth Fire Department records show there appears to have been a large response to an "active threat."

Author: WFAA Staff
Published: 11:40 AM CST December 29, 2019
Updated: 12:19 PM CST December 29, 2019
This is a breaking story and will be updated as WFAA receives more information.

An active threat was reported at a church in White Settlement on Sunday morning.

The threat was reported at 11:20 a.m. at West Freeway Church of Christ, which is located at 1900 S Las Vegas Trail in White Settlement, which is near Fort Worth.


Fort Worth Fire Department records show authorities are responding to an "active threat." The response appears to be large in nature.

MedStar officials confirmed at least two people were killed and one person was transported in critical condition.

The church was live streaming its service at the time of the attack. It appears in the video that when one person began shooting, others shot back.

Parishioners at the mostly-full church ducked for cover behind pews and covered their heads during the attack, the livestream showed.

The church's Facebook group shows its Sunday Worship service starts at 10:30 a.m.

[2farnorth]

Hope there were no friendly fire injuries. Please.

[Lynyrd]

This is another example of why I choose to always be armed. I pray for the victims and their families, and I'm glad there were armed members of the congregation that stopped the shooter before it got any worse.

[srothstein]

Sounds to me like the shooter picked the wrong church and this one was prepared with an armed security team.

From the article:

A church leader starts telling people to quiet down and be seated.

"Everything is under control. Our security team did everything they needed to do," the person said.

There is a second line in the article that can be taken two ways:

A new Texas law allowing worshippers to carry guns in religious locations went in to effect just months before the shooting.

I am not sure if they are blaming the law for the shooting or giving it credit for the security team being able to help.

[SewTexas]

uggg, that "new law" thing again.....

[ELB]

uggg, that "new law" thing again.....

Yes I noticed that.

[AF-Odin]

As I tell my students, it has been legal since about 1997 unless the church is properly posted or gives "effective notice." All the 2019 law did is clarify what could be considered by some as ambiguities in the wording since it still said places of worship were prohibited, but then further down said they were only prohibited if properly posted. Nothing really new in the last 20+ years.

Prayers for the congregation and also the reason I always sit where I can observe all three doors and have a concealed means of protection with a second magazine.

[philip964]

My prayers for the victims and their family and friends.

[Texas_Blaze]

Church safety starts in the parking lot.

[philip964]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/2019 ... orth-area/

Says “security guard” murdered. “A dear friend”.

Also says murderer was one of the dead.

[philip964]

The church service was being live streamed.

Caution. Skipping the ad immediately starts the stream.

[Mike S]

[Edits in red based on updated news reports & John Correia's zoomed-in video analysis].

From the video clip Phillip posted, it appears there were at least 4x armed members of the congregation, not including the deranged gunman, and they were disbursed somewhat throughout the sanctuary. I have no idea if this dispersion was by design or chance. [John Correia's zoomed in video clearly shows more than the 4x I initially counted; there were at least 6 armed parishioners, & based on updated news reports the gunman's demeanor/behavior had already put him on their radar as a potential threat. This enhances the likelihood the security team pre-positioned themselves in a manner to escort out if disruptive, or engage if becoming a threat.]

It appears the first victim was standing next to the man passing the communion, and had just drawn his own handgun in order to deal with the threat. This likely saved the life of the man closest to the gunman, at the cost of his own. (JOHN 15:13).

The first gunshot was from the shotgun; the second gunshot was from the second armed parishioner who engaged the gunman; & the third gunshot appeared to be the shotgun discharging towards the ceiling. [Edit: after watching the video several more times & based on updated news reports, I likely got this wrong. It seems the 3x gunshots heard in the video were all from the shotgun; either the handgun shot was masked by the sound of the second shotgun blast, or wasn't picked up by the audio equipment. There are two distinct flashes from the shotgun muzzle at the first audible gunshot & the last, but the muzzle of the shotgun appears to recoil when the second victim falls.]

ETA some other observations:
- the gunman appeared to present the shotgun from under a garment/jacket.
- Of the three remaining armed parishioners, no one seemed to flag/muzzle anyone else. [The additional armed partitioners noted by Correia flag several people. One seems to have a slightly elevated muzzle, whereas another one appeared to muzzle everything in front of him enroute to the threat].
- Most people dropped low & crawled/crouched as they moved away from the threat.
- As soon as the gunman was down, someone immediately ran to the victim to assess/render aid. One person was not prepared to see his condition, & ran a few pews back. (It sounds as if a family member is calling out in emotional agony; as if the victim was their father. Their grief is palatable & raw; it can be felt thru the audio).
- Someone moved the shotgun away from the gunman; perhaps he wasn't fully incapacitated at that point.
- Someone pulled out a cell phone within seconds of the threat being neutered, assumedly to call 911 to get first responders mobilized.
- Gunfire indoors can be deafening; have a plan that is well rehearsed and doesn't rely on voice communication.

[bbhack]

I dl'ed the video before it was removed, if anyone wants a copy.

[Grayling813]

Our security team received an alert when it happened this morning. Prayers for the security team member who gave his life for his church family. Brings home the reality of what we have committed to as church security.