A gunman has opened fire in a church in Texas, fatally shooting two people before being killed by an armed member of the congregation.

The gunman stood up from a pew at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, a suburb of Fort Worth, pulled out a shotgun and began firing.

A motive has not been established for the shooting, which lasted six seconds.

White Settlement police chief JP Bevering praised "the heroic actions" of those who confronted the attacker.

The shooting took place at about 11:50 (17:50 GMT) on Sunday, during a morning service that was being livestreamed on social media.

Video footage showed the gunman stand up from a pew and speak to a man nearby, who gestured at another parishioner. The gunman then fired at the man he gestured towards.

The gunman fired again, at the man he had spoken to, before a member of the congregation acting as a security guard returned fire with a handgun, immediately felling the attacker.

Several other parishioners also produced handguns and trained them on the attacker. It was not clear from the video footage whether any of the other armed parishioners fired shots.

The two churchgoers who were shot died later in hospital, police said.

Source: BBC

BDST: 1413 HRS, DEC 30, 2019
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