‘Evil did not win’: Hundreds gather at Fort Worth-area church rocked by shooting
Though a dark episode rattled his congregation, pastor Britt Farmer said Monday night that evil would not overcome the West Freeway Church of Christ, where a gunman killed two congregants.
Anton “Tony” Wallace, 64, and Richard White, 67, were killed Sunday when Keith Thomas Kinnunen opened fire in the White Settlement church on Las Vegas Trail. Kinnunen was killed almost immediately by a third church member, Jack Wilson.
“We lost some great men,” Farmer said. “I love this community, I love this church, I love this state, I love our country and I love our freedoms. I’m not going to let evil take that away.”
Composed and sincere, Farmer thanked a candle-lit crowd gathered outside his church and said its love was felt by his congregation gathered inside for a private service. Even as he spoke of Wallace and White he remained sturdy in his emotions, saying he loved both of them.
The loss of Wallace greatly affected him.
“He was my best friend,” he said, speaking slowly. “Preachers don’t have many best friends.”
A shooting during service
The shooting happened Sunday morning during communion, just minutes before a group of 20 children, all 8 years old or younger, were expected onstage, a longtime church member said.
Kinnunen, 43, from River Oaks, had fallen on hard times and benefited from the church’s generosity earlier this year. Farmer said he had provided Kinnunen food at least once when he had come to the church, and had visited with him briefly.
It’s unclear what exactly motivated Kinnunen to disguise himself and return to church Sunday with a gun, but Farmer told Bobby Ross Jr., editor-in-chief of the Christian Chronicle, that Kinnunen became angry when the church denied his request for money, according to a tweet from Ross.
Members of the church’s volunteer security team kept an eye on Kinnunen because of his odd appearance, said Mike Tinius, a church elder. Kinnunen’s beard and hair looked fake, said Isabel Arrreola, who sat two feet in front of Kinnunen with her 7-year-old daughter.
Wilson, a member of the church’s volunteer security team, fatally shot Kinnunen seconds after he opened fire.
A candidate for Hood County commissioner, Wilson posted an account of Sunday’s events on his campaign Facebook page Monday, thanking God for his ability to take down “evil.”
“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 exist and I had to take out an active shooter in church,” Wilson wrote in the post. “I’m thankful to GOD that I have been blessed with the ability and desire to serve him in the role of head of security at the church.”
Kinnunen had been arrested at least twice before, according to court records and reports. Fort Worth police arrested him in 2008 on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
He was arrested in September 2016 in New Jersey when police found him with a shotgun near an oil refinery in Linden, according to MyCentralNewJersey news.
Kinnunen told police he was homeless, traveling from Texas and taking photos of interesting sites.
A message of restoration and forgiveness
While the congregation and some invited guests gathered Monday night inside the West Freeway Church of Christ, more than 100 came together on the lawn and in the parking lot to sing hymns and hear a message of restoration and forgiveness.
Blan Chrane, a Franklin pastor who counted Farmer as a mentor, helped organize the vigil. Some of Farmer’s family attend his church, where he learned of Sunday’s shooting after his sermon. Chrane said he wanted to send a message that violence should not be seen as normal in America.
“You’ll hear, ‘Well that’s just the way things are nowadays,’” he said. “No. That’s not the kind of world we live in today. We live in a world where people from the community come together in 30-degree weather, stand outside of a church, light candles and sing songs.”
Among those in the crowd were Beth and Robert Southerland, and Glenn and Anne Pace, two couples who had previously been members of the West Freeway congregation. They said they knew both victims of the shooting and were “absolutely shocked” by what had happened.
Glenn Pace appeared shaken as they recalled Wallace as a “godly, humble, loving man, who was always laughing and smiling.”
Though Sunday’s shooting was tragic, the group said they held a firm conviction that the church would heal.
“I hope that big things, not only for this congregation but the whole community, come out of this,” Robert Southerland said. “I believe they will. Good things.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 8:56 PM.
