The front door of Burnette Chapel Church of Christ
The day after Sunday services is often still and quiet at a church, but it was a different sort of scene at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ this morning. The satellite trucks of various TV news stations were surrounding the church, one broadcaster filming a segment in front of its partially broken glass doors.
The trucks, the cameras, the jagged hole in the glass and the yellow police caution tape visible in a nearby trash can are the byproducts of the awful thing that happened there yesterday. Across the street, some of the church’s neighbors sitting on a front porch say they’ve decided not to speak to the media anymore, citing some inaccuracies in early news reports and a desire to privately process the events.
This is what we know so far: On Sunday morning, eight people were shot at the small Antioch-area church and one more was injured when a young man entered the church and started firing. The alleged gunman is 25-year-old Emanuel Samson, who was charged with one count of murder Sunday night, with more charges pending. We don’t yet know why he did it, and details are just beginning to emerge about who he is. According to his Facebook page, Samson is originally from Sudan, and police say that he is a legal U.S. resident, though not a citizen, who moved to the states in the '90s.
Church members told police that Samson had attended the church in the past but hadn’t been there recently.
It was some time after 11 a.m. Sunday morning, police say — just before church let out — when Samson pulled into the parking lot in a blue SUV. When Melanie Crow, 39, walked into the parking lot, he allegedly opened fire on her. She died at the scene.
From there, police say Samson walked into the church and began firing again, striking six people, all of them over age 60. William Jenkins, 83; Marlene Jenkins, 84; David Spann, 60; Peggy Spann, 65; Linda Bush 68; and Katherine Dickerson, 64.
David Spann, who goes by Joey, is the minister at Burnett Chapel and a Bible teacher and coach at Nashville Christian School. The school held a prayer gathering Sunday night for the all the victims and Spann, who reportedly remains in critical condition as of this writing.
Also injured was 22-year-old Robert Engle, an usher at the church who police say confronted Samson during the attack. Engle suffered head injuries when he was pistol whipped, police say, and during the struggle Samson’s gun went off and Samson was struck in the chest. That’s when police say Engle ran out to his car and retrieved his own pistol which he used to hold Samson until police arrived.
Police say that “four guns thought to be Samson’s have been recovered, two pistols from the church, and one pistol and one rifle from his SUV.”
According to an affidavit obtained by WSMV, Samson has confessed.
During an interview of the defendant, following his signing of a rights waiver, he stated he arrived at the church at approximately 1055 hours. He also stated he was armed with a handgun and that he fired upon the church building.
Update (10:45 a.m.):WSMV's Jeremy Finley with new information about the alleged shooter:
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