The shooting occurred around 10.00 a.m. at West Freeway Chruch, according to authorities, cited by the local broadcaster NBC television

One person died and another was seriously injured when an armed man opened fire on Sunday in a church in Texas (USA) who was shot dead by the Church security guards, witnesses and official sources reported. The incident occurred in the town of White Settlement, west of Dallas, while a religious service was held at the West Freeway Church.

Spokesmen from the hospital to which the victims were transferred reported that one of the dead is the alleged perpetrator of the shooting. Mike Tinius, a parishioner who was in the church, told The New York Times that the other mortal victim is a temple security guard who responded to the perpetrator.

“I was trying to do what I had to do to protect the rest of us,” said the man, who preferred not to identify the victim. The authorities are still unaware of the motivations of the perpetrator of the attack, who was reportedly gunned down by temple security guards. Macara Trusty, a spokesman for MedStar Mobile Healthcare, said one person suffered a respiratory arrest while being taken to a hospital, but they were able to revive her before being taken to surgery.

In a statement, Governor Greg Abbott called the act a “diabolical act of violence“. “Places of worship are meant to be sacred, and I am grateful to church members who acted quickly to bring down the shooter and help prevent further loss of life,” he added. Local media showed images of the enclosure with a strong presence of police, who have reported that the situation is under control and there is no danger.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the event was captured during a live broadcast of the religious service on the temple’s YouTube account (video that has been removed), in which a man is seen entering and shooting twice with what looks like a shotgun until someone behind him shoots him.

The shooting occurs almost twelve hours after a man was arrested in New York after stabbing five people in a rabbi’s residence on Saturday, in what authorities have described today as “internal terrorism.”