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Two people died in the shooting attack on the West Freeway Church in Texas. Photo: Abaca Pictures via Reuters.
A brutal gun attack at a church in Texas last weekend drew a sharp condemnation from the leaders of the US Jewish community in a statement on Tuesday.
“We are outraged by the recent shooting at West Freeway Church in White Settlement, TX,” Arthur Stark, chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman and CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, declared.
“The attack against innocent worshipers is particularly disturbing,” the statement continued. “It is abhorrent for any house of worship to become the site of senseless violence.”
Two churchgoers — Richard White and Anton “Tony” Wallace — lost their lives in Sunday’s incident. Gunman Keith Thomas Kinnunen, 43, was shot dead at the scene by a church security guard.
Authorities said that Kinnunen’s motive remained under investigation. He carried out the attack disguised with a fake beard, a wig, a hat and a long coat, which drew the attention of the church’s security team.
Brett Farmer, a minister at the church, said that Kinnunen had often relied on the congregation for food and other assistance.
“We’ve helped him on several occasions with food,” Farmer told The Christian Chronicle. “He gets mad when we won’t give him cash. He’s been here on multiple occasions.”
Commenting on the action taken by the church security team, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Monday that their advance preparedness had been critical.
“We can’t prevent every incident, we can’t prevent mental illness from occurring, and we can’t prevent every crazy person from pulling a gun, but we can be prepared like this church was,” Paxton said.