White Settlement police confirm only one man shot church gunman
In the initial hours after Jack Wilson fired his weapon, killing a gunman who took two lives during a church service, law enforcement officials said that they believed there were two people among the congregation who opened fire.
Turns out that Wilson was the only church member who shot back on Sunday at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement.
“At first it sounded like there were a couple of shooters,” White Settlement Chief of Police, J. P. Bevering said. “But after further investigation it appears that Wilson was the only shooter.”
Wilson of Granbury, who is running for Hood County commissioner, posted an account of Sunday’s events on his campaign Facebook page Monday.
Bevering called Wilson a hero, but added that it is sad that he needed to be one. The church’s security team performed admirably, and Bevering said there is nothing else that he believes they could have done or should have done.
Churches and schools were once havens in the community, Bevering said. Now, there are people who have respect for neither, he said.
Anton (Tony) Wallace, 64, and Richard White, 67, were identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety afternoon as the victims of the shooting. The gunman was identified as Keith Thomas Kinnunen of River Oaks.
Congregants did not recognize Kinnunen because he was wearing a disguise, according to some familiar with Sunday’s events.
Kinnunen was identified as a potential threat soon after he entered the church and was being watched by members of the church security team, people who attended the service said.
