Authorities have identified the gunman in Sunday's suburban Fort Worth church shooting as 43-year-old Keith Thomas Kinnunen of River Oaks, a small city near Fort Worth. Police have not determined a motive for the shooting.
Just before 11 a.m. Sunday, Kinnunen opened fire on two people during service at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, just west of Fort Worth. Authorities said two men, volunteer members of the church's security team, returned fire killing him.
The two people he shot died. Family members and the Texas Department of Public Safety have identified the two victims who died as 64-year-old Anton Wallace, of Fort Worth and 67-year-old Richard White, of River Oaks.
Kinnunen had a criminal record. He was charged with illegal possession of a shotgun in New Jersey in 2016. Records indicate he faced charges in Oklahoma for arson in 2012, and aggravated assault and battery in 2011. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in Tarrant County in 2009.
A livestream video from the church shows at least a half-dozen people in the congregation pulling out guns as he was taken down.
Hood County Commissioner candidate Jack Wilson has come forward as the church member who shot him.
Wilson posted a message on Facebook thanking people for their thoughts and prayers, and expressing sadness for the loss of the two men killed by the shooter.
“The events at West Freeway Church of Christ put me in a position that I would hope no one would have to be in, but evil exists and I had to take out an active shooter in church,” Wilson said in the post.
Hood County, where Wilson is running for commissioner, is southwest of Fort Worth. The message was posted on his campaign Facebook page. His Facebook bio says he's a former Hood County reserve deputy and a firearms instructor.
Wilson told the Associated Press the entire confrontation was over in no more than six seconds. He said initially the panic from people in the congregation prevented him from getting a clear shot.
“I had to wait about half a second, or a second, to get my shot," Wilson said. "I fired one round. The subject went down.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THO5zuMhVa0
Wilson said the church's security team was suspicious of the shooter as soon as he entered the church, wearing a fake beard, wig, hat and long coat. More than 240 people were in the church during the attack.
This is a developing story.
Updated 8:51 p.m.
A previous verison of this story incorrectly spelled Anton Wallace's name.
