A Texas man began shooting people in a church yesterday and killed two people, including a security guard who returned fire, before dying in the shootout.

The still-unnamed gunman was reportedly talking with someone at the back of the church before opening fire on unsuspecting church members. The whole incident was caught on video.

The death of the second victim was confirmed Sunday evening by FBI spokesman Jason Wandel. He said the two congregants who opened fire on the suspect were part of a security team at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement. The assailant fired at least once before the “heroic actions” of the congregants cut his assault short, White Settlement Police Department Chief J.P. Bevering said during a news conference Sunday afternoon… An elder at the church told the New York Times that one of those killed was a security guard who responded to the shooter.

There is no doubt that it was “heroic” for these security guards to fire back against a shooter, but that doesn’t change the fact that one still died. Nor does it change the fact that the gunman was able to kill someone else. We don’t know if the shooter obtained the gun legally or not.

It’s yet another sign that, even in Texas where open carrying is encouraged, there are still too many deaths and too much violence when guns are involved. While conservatives will no doubt focus on how “good guys with guns” stopped the killer, let’s also remember that stricter regulations could prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands before a shooting can even occur.

This incident brings to mind the 2017 Texas church mass shooting that resulted in the deaths of 26 congregants in Sutherland Springs. Many reports said the gunman in that incident took his own life, but a man who exchanged shots with him said he was “sent by God” to stop the killings.

This story, too, will inevitably become another culture wars flashpoint: Were guns the problem or solution to this tragedy? Your politics determines your answer.

(Screenshot via Google Maps)

