Police say the tragedy began Sunday near Blue Grass Airport in Lexington when a state trooper stopped a car after receiving an alert from his automated license plate reader.

The suspect ambushed the trooper, shooting and wounding him as he walked up to the car.

Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said, "There were some people on the route to the airport, and they got out and assisted the trooper."

The shooter drove 9 miles before stealing a different car, and then going to Richmond Road Baptist Church.

"Preliminary information indicates that the suspect may have had a connection to the individuals at the church," Weathers said.

Two women told the Lexington Herald Leader newspaper they were cooking in the basement at Richmond Road Baptist when the gunman burst in and asked to see a woman who attended the church and was the mother of his children. When they told the gunman she wasn't there, he reportedly responded: "Well, someone is gonna have to die, then," and he opened fire.

Mother and daughter Beverly Gumm and Christina Combs are now dead. Their husbands, Randy Combs and church pastor Jerry Gumm, were injured. Police shot and killed the suspect on site.

The Herald-Leader reports that Combs was a mother of five, including a 6-month-old baby, and was planning to graduate from nursing school in the coming months.

Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said, "The majority of the individuals there are related in some way, or have been friends for many years. It's a very tight-knit group."

Police say the suspect had a history of mental health, drug, and anger issues, and that his ex had filed for a protection order against him in the past.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear posted on X: "Please pray for everyone affected by these senseless acts of violence". The state attorney general said in a statement, "Today, violence invaded the Lord's House."

This is the second church shooting in the US in less than a month. In the other, near Detroit, church security shot and killed the gunman. One person was injured. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Dale Hurd utilizes his four decades of experience to provide cutting-edge analysis of the most important events affecting our world.

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