A Texas man armed with a shotgun and running from police overnight Saturday hid inside a church where he confronted the pastor the next morning and allegedly opened fire, according to reports.
Authorities on Sunday charged 21-year-old Mytrez Deunte Woolen of Marshall, Texas, with first-degree capital murder and felony assault in the shooting at Starrville Methodist Church that killed Pastor Mark Allen McWilliams, 62.
Two other parishioners were also injured during the attack but are expected to survive.
»2019: How a deadly shooting unfolded at a Texas church
The suspect is being held at Smith County Jail, and bond is set at $3.5 million.
The night before the shooting, police were in a car chase with Woolen after observing him brandishing a shotgun through the sunroof of the Volkswagen Jetta he was driving, according to The Associated Press.
The suspect later ditched the car in some woods near Winona and fled. Police used search dogs and drones until about 2 a.m. Sunday but couldn’t find him, reports said.
Police suspect Woolen broke into the church around that time and was still holed up when McWilliams and several others arrived later in the morning.
McWilliams came across the man hiding in one of the bathrooms, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said at a news conference.
McWilliams drew his own gun but Woolen lunged and took the weapon away, the sheriff said. That’s when the shooting began, the AP reported. McWilliams was killed, a second person was injured by gunfire and another was hurt in a fall. Woolen used the pastor’s firearm in the shooting, Smith said. Police, however, did not reveal how many shots were fired.
In the aftermath, Woolen allegedly stole the pastor’s vehicle and fled east on Interstate 20 before being arrested by deputies in nearby Harrison County, Smith said. He said Woolen was hospitalized Sunday afternoon with gunshot wounds to his hand, but it wasn’t clear when he was shot or by whom.
Police were alerted about 9:20 a.m., and there were no services going on at that time, said Sgt. Larry Christian of the sheriff’s office. Smith said the pastor, his wife and two other people were in the church at the time.
Woolen appears to have taken shelter in the church out of convenience and there’s nothing to indicate the shooting was motivated by religious animus, the sheriff said.
“This is not a church-related, religion-related offense,” said Smith.
Gov. Greg Abbott sent his condolences.
“Our hearts are with the victims and the families of those killed or injured in this terrible tragedy,” he said in a statement.
The church is located in Starrville, near Winona, about 100 miles east of Dallas and was built in 1853, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
Representatives of Starrville Methodist could not be immediately reached for comment.
The shooting came a little more than a year after a gunman opened fire at a church near Fort Worth, killing two people before he was fatally shot by a congregant.
Texas officials hailed the congregant’s quick action, saying it prevented further killing and showed the effectiveness of the state’s permissive gun laws, including a 2019 measure that affirmed the right of licensed handgun holders to carry a weapon in places of worship.
That law was passed in response to the 2017 massacre at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where a man fatally shot more than two dozen people at a Sunday service before taking his own life.
Since then, a cottage industry has sprung up in Texas and other states to train and arm civilians to protect their churches using the techniques and equipment of law enforcement.
Information provided by The Associated Press was used to supplement this report.
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