Black man shot up a white church last week - almost nobody heard about it

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One woman was killed and seven other people were hurt after a suspect identified as a Sudanese immigrant opened fire at a Tennessee church Sunday, police said, as the FBI confirmed it's launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting.

The suspect, 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson, immigrated from Sudan two decades ago, police said. He's suspected of bringing at least two pistols and a mask to the predominantly white Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, southeast of Nashville, before opening fire.

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An usher, identified as Robert Engle, 22, confronted the gunman at one point and was pistol-whipped, causing "significant injury around his head," police added. They said Engle went to his own car, grabbed a pistol and headed back into the church.

Law enforcement confirmed Samson is a legal U.S. resident who immigrated from Sudan in 1996.

It was initially reported that the gunman shot himself, although police said it's unclear whether he shot himself or the gun unintentionally discharged during his scuffle with Engle.

Police said that Burnette Chapel churchgoers recognized Samson as attending their church one to two years ago, but noted he hadn't attended services "in quite a while."
The woman who was shot and killed in the church parking lot, identified as Melanie Smith, 39, was walking to her car when she was hit, police said.

The gunman, with his blue vehicle still running in the parking lot, then entered the back of the church and shot six people – three women and three men – who were rushed to the hospital, police said.

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