The White Settlement church shooting took place on December 29, 2019, when a gunman opened fire during Sunday morning services at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, killing two members of the congregation before a volunteer security team member shot and killed him. From the first shot to the last, the attack lasted about six seconds, and because it unfolded on the church’s livestream, it became one of the most-watched mass shooting interventions in American history.
What Happened That Morning
The shooting began around 10:57 a.m. during a service attended by roughly 242 people. The gunman, 43-year-old Keith Thomas Kinnunen of River Oaks, Texas, had come in wearing a fake beard, a wig, and a long coat. He sat with the congregation and took communion. Then he stood, approached a deacon, pulled a shotgun from under his coat, and fired at point-blank range.
Two men were killed: Anton “Tony” Wallace, 64, and Richard White, 67. Jack Wilson, the 71-year-old head of the church’s volunteer security team, fired a single round that struck Kinnunen in the head. Wilson later said he had waited for a brief clearing in his line of fire to avoid hitting other congregants. Five or six other armed volunteers were already drawing their weapons when he fired. Two people sustained minor injuries while fleeing the sanctuary.
The Two Men Killed
Tony Wallace was a nurse manager at the THR Harris Methodist Hemodialysis Unit in Fort Worth and a father and grandfather. He had been serving communion when Kinnunen confronted him. His brother said Wallace died “giving,” describing him as a peacemaker who avoided conflict. His memorial service was held on January 11, 2020, at the Altamesa Church of Christ in Fort Worth.
Richard White was a member of the volunteer security team and a close friend of the church’s minister, Britt Farmer. He was seated directly behind Kinnunen and drew his weapon the instant the shotgun appeared, but Kinnunen shot him before he could fire. More than 650 people attended his funeral on January 2, 2020, at the Western Hills Church of Christ in Fort Worth. Governor Greg Abbott spoke, quoting the Gospel of John: “There is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends. Rich White lived that lesson.”
Who the Gunman Was
Kinnunen had a long record across several states. In Texas, he had been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2009 and theft of property in 2013. In Oklahoma in 2011, he attacked a doughnut shop owner in Chickasha and set fire to a cotton field, drawing felony charges for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and arson. An Oklahoma district judge ruled him mentally incompetent to stand trial in 2012, and a forensic psychologist noted signs of “substantial mental illness.” He was committed to a psychiatric facility, found competent again by February 2013, and ultimately pleaded guilty after both Oklahoma cases were reduced to misdemeanors.
In September 2016, he was arrested in Linden, New Jersey, for possession of a 12-gauge shotgun. That charge was reduced to criminal trespass after prosecutors determined the weapon was inoperable because of a missing component. He was sentenced to time served and the gun was forfeited. Because the reduction left him with a misdemeanor rather than a felony, the conviction did not trigger the federal provisions that would have barred him from buying firearms.
Two former wives spoke about him publicly. One called him “mentally ill” with a “bad drug habit” who had “lost touch with reality.” Another described him as a “violent, paranoid person” and a “religious fanatic” who said he was “battling a demon.” A protective order had been filed against him in Grady County, Oklahoma, in 2012.
Investigators never publicly confirmed how he obtained the shotgun. The ATF traced the weapon, described as a short-barreled 12-gauge with a pistol grip, but neither Texas nor federal authorities disclosed the results. Texas allows private gun sales without background checks, and whether a legal prohibition would have blocked a purchase depended on records that were never made public.
Motive
Minister Britt Farmer told reporters that Kinnunen had visited the church multiple times during 2019 and that the congregation had given him food on several occasions. He grew angry when they refused to give him cash. “He gets mad when we won’t give him cash. He’s been here on multiple occasions,” Farmer said. Church leaders did not recognize him on the day of the attack because of the disguise. Authorities said the official motive remained under investigation.
How the Security Team Was Ready
West Freeway Church of Christ had established its volunteer security team after moving to a new building, prompted by concerns about local violence. Church leaders pointed to five homicides within two miles of the church in 2018. Jack Wilson, a firearms instructor since 1995 and former owner of On Target Firearms Training Academy, headed the team and personally trained its members. He was also a former Hood County reserve sheriff’s deputy.
The team noticed Kinnunen almost immediately that morning. His coat and disguise drew attention, and members tracked him through the church’s audio-visual camera system. When he drew the shotgun, both Wilson and Richard White drew their weapons. White fired first and missed before being shot. Wilson’s single shot ended the attack roughly six seconds after it began.
The legal framework that made the team possible dated to 2017. Before a law authored by then-state Representative Matt Rinaldi took effect that September, Texas churches wanting organized security either had to hire licensed private guards or pay a $400 fee for a state exemption. Rinaldi’s law let congregants with concealed-carry licenses form volunteer teams. “There’s no doubt that what the law did was legalize what was done at White Settlement Church in forming a security team,” Rinaldi later said. Separately, Senate Bill 535, which took effect September 1, 2019, confirmed that licensed handgun holders could carry in churches unless the church explicitly prohibited it.
The Grand Jury Decision
On September 28, 2020, a Tarrant County grand jury issued a “no-bill” for Jack Wilson, declining to bring any charges against him. Tim Rodgers, chief prosecutor for the Law Enforcement Incident team in the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, said the investigation was complete. “Texas law allows an individual, when they witness somebody placing others at risk of serious bodily injury or death, to act with deadly force to protect the other individuals,” Rodgers said. “Mr. Wilson did just that.”
In January 2020, Governor Abbott presented Wilson with the Governor’s Medal of Courage at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, calling him “a hero to the entire state of Texas.” The award is described as the highest honor given to civilians by the governor, reserved for those who display “great acts of heroism by risking their own safety to save another’s life.”
The Debate the Six Seconds Set Off
Gun-rights advocates and Texas officials held up the outcome as proof that armed citizens save lives. President Donald Trump tweeted that the attack “was over in 6 seconds thanks to the brave parishioners,” and that without armed churchgoers “the end result would have been catastrophic.” Attorney General Ken Paxton called the response “a model of what other churches and other places of business need to focus on.” The National Rifle Association cited it as a textbook example of its “good guy with a gun” argument.
Gun-control advocates drew different conclusions. Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, argued the shooting was a product of “lax gun laws” that allowed someone with Kinnunen’s criminal and mental health history to obtain a firearm in the first place. Newtown Action Alliance pointed out that Wilson was not an ordinary armed citizen but a highly trained former reserve deputy and professional firearms instructor. Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke said the state’s leaders “have left us open to these kinds of attacks.” The debate also revived discussion of H.R. 8, a universal background check bill that had passed the House in February 2019 but stalled in the Senate.
The Church Afterward
The sanctuary was closed for repairs after the shooting, which is why Richard White’s funeral was held at a sister congregation. The church eventually finished the work and returned to worship, but the congregation’s healing was complicated by the arrival of COVID-19 only months later. Pastor Farmer said the pandemic kept the “close-knit family” from gathering in the way they needed to grieve together.
By the first anniversary in December 2020, in-person services had resumed and the livestream continued. The congregation reported receiving requests from churches around the world asking for guidance on training armed security volunteers. Jay White, Richard White’s brother, had offered a message at the funeral that the church carried forward: “Don’t hate. Let me repeat that word: Do not hate. Do not harbor hatred in your heart toward anyone.”