UPDATE (4:25 p.m. EST):
Below is a video of the shooting.
WARNING: Content is graphic.
UPDATE (4:03 p.m. EST):
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, one person died on the way to the hospital and another person remains in critical condition.
NBC 5 recounted the livestream:
A live-stream recording of the church’s Sunday morning service showed the shooting and the commotion that followed.
In the video, someone thought to be the shooter gets up when the congregation greets each other, shakes hands and walks out talking to someone.
The shooter reenters the sanctuary, talks to a man in a suit and sits down. The person gets up again and talks to the same man, who points in a direction, and the shooter pulls out a firearm and shoots two people.
Another man pulls out a handgun and shoots the suspect. In the moments that follow, people can be heard screaming and church leaders ask that everyone sits down to wait for the police.
“Everything is under control. Our security team did exactly what they needed to do, but we do have one of our members that's injured, so please,” someone is heard saying. “We have a gentleman that came in armed to do harm, and the police are on their way.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
Just before 10 a.m. a shooting broke out at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas. As parishioners were taking part in communion, the gunman walked up to the server with a shotgun and opened fire. The gunman was stopped when an armed security guard shot the suspect, CBS 11 reported. Two people are dead and one is injured.
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David McClelland from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office told Fox News the shooter suffered a gunshot wound. MedStar, the ambulance company, told FOX 4 the gunman was one of the deceased.
According to Fox 4, the church was live streaming its services when the shooting took place.
The AFT is heading to the scene At West Freeway Church of Christ where at least three people have reportedly been shot, two dead (including the shooter). @DavidSFOX4 and i will have team coverage. The church was live streaming the service when the gunshots happened. @FOX4 pic.twitter.com/2t7Q7iwhyS
— Steven Dial (@StevenDialFox4) December 29, 2019
The Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are heading up the investigation.
BREAKING: #ATF Special Agents are en route to a reported shooting at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement TX. @WSPD_TX @cityof_ws @fortworthpd pic.twitter.com/hxNJHmLw18
— ATF Dallas (@ATFDallas) December 29, 2019
Gov. Greg Abbott offered his thoughts and prayers.
"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," the governor said in a statement. "Cecilia and I ask all Texans to join us in praying for the White Settlement community and for all those affected by this horrible tragedy."
Statement on shooting at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement: pic.twitter.com/Crrrvavvs6
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) December 29, 2019
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story said an armed parishioner stopped the gunman. It was actually an armed guard.
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