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1 Killed In Church Shooting Outside Nashville; Alleged Shooter Arrested

Nashville police say they started receiving calls about the church shooting at around 11:15 a.m. ET.
Raymond Boyd
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Nashville police say they started receiving calls about the church shooting at around 11:15 a.m. ET.

Updated at 9:25 p.m. ET

One person was killed and seven others were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tenn., on Sunday morning, according to police. The suspect was among the injured.

By the afternoon, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department had identified the woman churchgoer who was fatally shot as Melanie Smith, 39, from the Rutherford County town of Smyrna, Tenn.

Police say the alleged shooter is 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson. "He has been released from hospital and will be charged with murder and [attempted] murder," the MNPD tweeted. Authorities have not commented on a possible motive for the shooting.

Police say they started receiving calls about the shooting around 11:15 a.m. ET. Nashville police Public Affairs Manager Don Aaron says six of the injured, three men — including the suspect — and three women, were being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Two other victims were taken to Skyline Medical Center.

The Nashville Fire Department tweeted that all but one of the victims is over 60 years old.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry released a statement expressing her condolences to the victims and their families.

The Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, which has a weekly service at 10 a.m., is located about 10 miles southeast of downtown Nashville.

This is a developing story. Some things that get reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Windsor Johnston has been a newscast anchor and reporter for NPR since 2011. As a newscaster, she writes, produces, and delivers hourly national newscasts. Occasionally, she also reports breaking news stories for NPR's Newsdesk.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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