A man who was shot dead by a security guard Sunday after he opened fire outside a Michigan church during a service has been identified as a 31-year-old who attended the church with his mother.
Brian Anthony Browning, of Romulus, was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle with more than a dozen magazines of ammunition, a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, Wayne police said in a statement.
"The suspect’s mother is a member of the church, where he has attended church services two or three times over the last year," the statement said.
Police said their ongoing investigation suggests "he may have been suffering a mental health crisis" and that he had no previous contact with law enforcement officers.
There have been no details about a possible motive. Police said there was no evidence to suggest the shooting was linked to ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as has been the case in recent attacks across the United States. The suspect had no criminal history or previous contacts with Wayne police.
Browning referred to the church at least twice on his Facebook account, but it was unclear exactly what prompted his actions.
Police were first called to CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, a western suburb of Detroit, at 11:06 a.m. for reports of a white man wearing camouflage gear and a tactical vest. A witness said he was driving a silver SUV "erratically" in the parking lot.
Minutes later, further 911 calls said the gunman fired a weapon before a person driving a pickup truck hit him with his vehicle.
Senior Pastor Bobby Kelly Jr. said he initially thought someone outside was using a jackhammer.
“We weren’t thinking that those were shots until one of our security came in and told us to get out, that’s when [we] began exiting the building," he said.
Kelly said a member of his church ran the shooter down in his car before the gunman could reach the building's front door. The church's security team then "engaged" him, Kelly said, and several rounds were fired.
"He was only a few feet from the front of the church," he said.
The Wayne Police Department said the gunman was fatally shot by a member of the security team.
A member of that team was shot twice in the leg and sustained a "non-life-threatening" injury, the department said. Police said he was stable in a local hospital, having undergone successful surgery Sunday night.
Officers gave lifesaving treatment to the suspect, but Wayne Fire Rescue pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police searched Browning's home and found even more weaponry, including rifles, semi-automatic handguns and a large amount of ammunition.
The recording of an internet livestream of the church service, which shows people ducking and running out of the room, is genuine, police said.
“We are grateful for the heroic actions of the church’s staff members, who undoubtedly saved many lives and prevented a large-scale mass shooting,” Police Chief Ryan Strong said Sunday at a news conference.
Kelly said he'd seen the gunman a couple of times before. When Browning's mother was baptized, the pastor said he met with the gunman, who "had some concerns but it wasn't anything violent. It was really about scripture and when we finished speaking, we were actually in agreement."
"I saw him one more time after that in our church, and he was in a good mood," Kelly added. "He actually thought the message was very positive. That was back in February."
Kelly said he's spoken to Browning's mother, whom he described as "pretty distraught."
"We don't hold anything against her," he said.
