'I Feel Like I Killed Evil': Jack Wilson Praised For Killing White Settlement Church Shooting Suspect
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The man who is the head of security at West Freeway Church of Christ is being praised for his "heroic actions" after he said he shot and killed the gunman who opened fire inside the church Sunday.
Jack Wilson, who is running for Hood County commissioner, wrote on Facebook that he "had to take out" the suspect who shot two men with a shotgun during communion at West Freeway Church of Christ just before 11 a.m. The two victims died at the hospital, officials said.
The incident was captured on the church's livestream of their service and it showed the suspect being shot within seconds after he fired at the two victims.
"Don't consider myself a hero at all. Did what I was trained to do," Wilson said.
Wilson told reporters Monday morning that he fired one round at the suspect and then made sure the suspect stayed down as others got help for the victims.
"My training says that if I see a weapon, especially in that scenario, because that's my job. I'm the deacon in charge of security at the church. The people that were on the security team, we've spent numerous hours training and working on this scenario. Hoping it never happens," Wilson said.
Wilson said the whole incident happened in just seconds.
"The whole thing was less than 6 seconds from start to finish. I had to make sure I didn't hit someone, a member there, as they were right in front of me," Wilson said.
White Settlement Police Chief JP Bevering praised the security team, saying the gunman was stopped "thanks to the quick and heroic actions of those safety members."
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also talked about that team as a law in 2017 allowed churches to have armed volunteer security.
"This church had its own security team. They were well-trained," Patrick said. "The heroism today was unparalleled. The team responded quickly and within six seconds the shooting was over."
Wilson said his team is all volunteers and that they installed cameras and security systems themselves inside and outside the church.
The two victims were identified by authorities as Tony Wallace and Richard White. The suspect has not yet been identified.
"I don't feel like I killed an individual. I feel like I killed evil. That's how I'm approaching it and that's how I'm processing," Wilson said.