Nashville Church Shooting Kills 1, Injures 6

Nashville Church Shooting Kills 1, Injures 6

A Tennessee man is being held without bond after he open fired in a church outside of Nashville killing one person and injuring six others.

A church just outside of Nashville, Tennessee has been shaken after a man entered the building and began shooting "indiscriminately" at people inside during a Sunday morning service.

Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, was identified as the suspect by police. Authorities told the media that Samson had arrived at the church before 11 a.m. and "fired upon the church building."

Police found four guns believe to be Samson's. A statement by police revealed that a rifle and pistol were found in Samon's SUV while two other pistols were found in Burnett Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch where Samson killed 39-year-old Melanie Smith as she walked to her car.

After killing Smith, Nashville police said that the gunman entered the main sanctuary door and "began indiscriminately shooting." Six other church members were injured before 22-year-old Caleb Engle, a church usher, intervened. Police say there was a significant struggle between the Samson and Engle, but eventually Samson shot himself in the left pectoral muscle as a result of the struggle. Engle told police he left to get his firearm from his vehicle and then came back to keep an eye on Samson before the police arrived.

In a statement made to police, Engle said, "the real heroes are the first responders, medical staff and doctors who have helped me and everyone affected."

Those wounded were all over the age of 60: William Jenkins, Marlene Jenkins, Linda Bush, Katherine Dickerson, John Spann and Peggy Spann.

The Memphis office of the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office for middle Tennessee have opened a civil rights investigation into the crime, but have declined to comment further.

Samson is believed to have come to the United States from Sudan in 1996 and was a legal US resident but not necessarily a citizen. It is not known if Samson knew the congregation at Burnette Chapel.

 

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services
  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

New Products

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.