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What We Know About Burnette Church Shooter Emanuel Kidega Samson

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Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, was identified as the Burnette Church shooter.

Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, was identified as the Burnette Church shooter.

Emanuel Kidega Samson Identified As Burnette Church Shooter

Antioch, Tenn. – Officials have identified the shooter at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ as 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson, of Murfreesboro.

Mursfreeboro is about 25 miles from Antioch and he has no known connection to the church.

“I am not aware at this moment of any relationship between this man and the congregation,” police spokesman Don Aaron said.

UPDATE: Aaron now advises that Samson attended the church a year or two ago and the congregants hadn’t recognized him because he was masked during the attack.

Samson’s Facebook page reveals some information about the shooter. Just before the shooting he made four posts to his Facebook page saying:

Everything you’ve ever doubted or made to be believe as false, is real. 
& vice versa, B.

Become the creator instead of what’s created . 
Whatever you say, goes

You are more than what they told us.

emmanuel-kidega-samson-1

emmanuel-kidega-samson-2

emmanuel-kidega-samson-3

emmanuel-kidega-samson-4

His profile also states that he is originally from Khartoum, Sudan, but went to Smyrna High School and studied psychology at Mott Community College.

His Facebook page and allmightephysique Instagram account show that he is a bodybuilder.

After the shooting, Emanuel Kidega Samson was transported to the hospital for a gunshot wound he accidentally inflicted on his on leg after he got into a scuffle with a hero usher at the church. He has since been released from the hospital and is in police custody for murder and attempted murder.

The murdered victim has been identified as 39-year-old Melanie Smith of Smyrna.

(previously published story below)

Antioch, Tenn. – Seven people have been wounded, and one person has been confirmed to have been killed during a mass shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch outside of Nashville, according to Metro Nashville PD.

The shooter was stopped by a church usher who confronted the shooter and was pistol-whipped, causing a “significant injury to his head.”  During the scuffle the shooter accidentally shot himself in the leg.

Wounded, the usher then went to his car, grabbed his pistol, and returned to hold the shooter at gunpoint until police arrived.

There have been multiple reports that the shooter was wearing a clown mask during the shooting. Police have said that the shooter was wearing more of a ski-type mask.

Natalie Allison reports that prior to the shooting, the gunman went to the Sunday school classroom and told them to keep all of the children inside. He then went to the parking lot where he shot a female victim.

A witness said that he shot the female in the back, then rolled her over and shot her in the face.

Despite an earlier report that the suspect went in and sat down, current information indicates that he moved from the parking lot into the church with his gun ready to continue his killing spree.

The gunman entered the church and opened fire, shooting a total of three men and three women. All but one victim was over the age of 60.

Officials said that the suspect’s car was still running when police arrived, and it appears that he did not expect for a brave individual to confront him and stop him.

A bomb K9 has alerted on the vehicle and the bomb squad is currently working to clear the vehicle.

The gunman has only been identified as a “26-year-old African American individual.” There is no information at this time which indicates that this shooting was in any way racially motivated and information about the victims has not been released.

[previously published story]

Antioch, Tenn. – Seven people have been wounded, and one person has been confirmed to have been killed during a mass shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch outside of Nashville, according to Metro Nashville PD.

At around 11:15 AM, 911 calls started coming in about a mass shooting at the church at 3890 Pin Hook Road.

Officers responded and the gunman was “wounded,” believe to have been shot. It’s not clear at this time if responding officers are the ones who shot the gunman.

According to Natalie Allison, a former pastor at the church described the incident, “Fella walked in, sat down in a seat and pulled our a pistol and started shooting.”

The victims were reported that “all of the wounded except for one is over the age of 60.” It hasn’t been released if the wounded person that’s under the age of 60 was the gunman.

One woman was found dead in the parking lot. A witness said that she had been shot in the back and then the gunman rolled her over and shot her in the face.

Police are still on scene interviewing witnesses who weren’t wounded.

The gunman is in custody at the hospital.

You can see witness interviews below:

This is a developing story and we will keep you updated. For all of our updates, follow us on Facebook and go to your news feed preferences under your settings, then select that you want to see more of Blue Lives Matter posts in your news feed. Otherwise, Facebook may not show you updates.

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