Gunman identified in US Tennessee church shooting

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The gunman who opened fire on Sunday at a church in the US southern state of Tennessee has been identified, police said.

A woman was shot dead with seven injured during the shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, southeast of Nashville. The suspect was among the injured.

The suspect, identified as Emanuel Kidega Samson, is a legal US resident who immigrated from Sudan in 1996, police said in a news conference.

The 25-year-old wore a mask and brought two guns to the church on Sunday and fired "multiple rounds," said police.

Metropolitan Nashville Police Department tweeted that Samson had been released from the hospital and will be charged with murder, in addition to attempted murder.

The scene where people were injured when a gunman opened fire at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, in Nashville, Tennessee, US, September 24, 2017. /Reuters Photo

At around 11:15 a.m. local time, police began receiving calls that multiple shots were fired with people shot at the church, a dispatcher told the Tennessean, part of USA Today Network.

A church usher, identified as Robert Engle, 22 years old, confronted the masked gunman at one point and was pistol-whipped, causing "significant injury around his head," police said.

They said Engle went to his own car, grabbed a pistol and headed back into the church.

It was initially reported that the gunman shot himself, although police said it's unclear whether he shot himself or the gun unintentionally discharged during his scuffle with Engle.

Megan Barry, mayor of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, said in a statement that the shooting "is 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."

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency