Police lead Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, to jail following his arrest for opening fire in a Nashville-area church on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. One woman died and six other people were injured before a church usher who had a gun of his own stopped Samson. (Photo from Nashville Police Department home page)

(CNSNews.com) - The Sudanese immigrant accused of opening fire in a Nashville church on Sunday, killing one woman outside and injuring six other people inside, was stopped by a church usher who also had a gun.



According to the Nashville Police Department:

As the gunfire was occurring, church usher Robert Caleb Engle, 22, confronted [suspect Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25] and engaged him in a struggle, which resulted in Engle being pistol whipped.



During the struggle, Samson’s gun discharged, striking him in the left chest. The wound sent Samson to the floor. Engle, despite his head injuries, ran out to his car in the parking lot and retrieved a pistol. He held Samson at gunpoint until police arrived. Samson was treated for his gunshot wound at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and discharged.

The suspect is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, and the motive "remains under investigation," police said.



Church members said Samson had attended the church in past years, but not recently.



"Four guns thought to be Samson’s have been recovered," including two pistols from the church, and one pistol and one rifle from his SUV, police said.



Samson, who came to the United States legally from Sudan in 1996, is charged with one count of murder in the death of a 39-year-old woman in the church parking lot. Additional charges are expected to be filed.



Press reports quoted Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, as saying, "It would appear he was not expecting to encounter a brave individual like the church usher.”



Police Chief Steve Anderson praised the usher as a "hero."



The six people who survived the shooting range in age from 60 to 84.