A 31-year-old man showed up at a suburban Detroit church on Sunday dressed in a tactical vest and armed with a long gun and a hand gun, but parishioners and staff members acted quickly and likely prevented a deadly mass shooting.
A parishioner hit Brian Anthony Browning with their vehicle as the gunman fired at t the vehicle, and at least two members of the church’s security team shot and killed him, The Detroit Free Press reported.
Browning arrived at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, where his mother is a parishioner, at around 11 a.m. on Sunday. Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong said 911 calls began coming in at 11:06, reporting shots fired at the church, WDIV reported.
Browning was reportedly driving recklessly as he pulled into the church parking lot and opened fire as he got out of his vehicle, Strong said.
“We are grateful for the heroic actions of the church’s staff members, who undoubtedly saved many lives and prevented a large-scale mass shooting,” Strong said, adding that their actions “prevented dozens of people from being murdered.”
One staff member was shot in the leg and is recovering.
Strong said Browning was armed with a AR-15 style rifle, with more than a dozen fully loaded magazines, and a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine. He carried hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Church officials said Browning had attended services at the church two or three times in the past year.
Police said he dd not have a criminal history and that their interactions with him had been “quite limited.”
A search at his home uncovered more rifles, several more semi-automatic handguns, and a significant amount of ammunition.
The church’s livestream showed parishioners reacting as word of the shooting spread inside. An event had just wrapped up when shouting is heard off screen.
The Free Press said that members of the security team responded quickly, locking the church doors as they went to meet the shooter outside.
Wendy Bodin told WDIV she had gone into the lobby to answer a phone call. She said she saw a man on the ground heard a loud boom and another woman told her to call 911. She said she had started to do so when she heard clear gunshots and “booked it to the bathroom,” hiding there with another person.
Inside the restroom, Bodin said they heard running footsteps and “a lot of gunshots.”
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been involved in,” she said. “I was hiding in one of the bathrooms and stood on the toilet and shut the door.”
Police said Browning, who lived with his mother, acquired his arsenal of weapons and ammunition legally and said they so far have no idea what his motivation was.
