Michigan Church Shooter Identified: Brian Browning, 31
Michigan Church Shooter Identified: Brian Browning, 31
A man who opened fire on a church with an AR-15 was suffering a mental breakdown and attended the congregation with his mother.
Brian Browning, 31, was shot dead by security guards at CrossPointe Church in Wayne a suburb of Detriot, on Sunday morning.
He began the attack by ramming his Ford F-150 truck into the building at 11.06am before he opened fire during service.
The Wayne Police Department said he 'may have been suffering a mental health crisis' and had nothing to do with organized terrorism.
'The suspect’s mother is a member of the church, in which he has attended church services two or three times over the course of the last year,' it said.
'The church security team was alerted by the gunfire and reacted quickly to engage the suspect outside the main entrance doors of the church.'
One security guard was shot twice in the leg and is recovering in hospital after surgery. Some bullets went into the church by no one else was hurt.
Browning was armed with a AR-15-style assault rifle with more than a dozen magazines of ammunition, and a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, police said.
Police found rifles, semi-automatic handguns, and a large amount of ammunition when they searched his home after the shooting.
However, he had no criminal history or prior contact with police, and the motive for his attack, beyond his mental crisis, is unknown.
Horrific footage from a church service's livestream showed the moment that frantic families started running for their lives when an active shooter opened fire.
The bloodcurdling video showed churchgoers suddenly realize the unfolding terror and run towards the door.
Young children were on the stage and in the pews with their parents, before one member directed the congregation to 'get down' and run to the back of the building.
Chilling screams, 'come on, come on', were heard as kids and adults fled for their lives, followed by a loud bang and shouting off-screen.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, said the agency was on the ground providing 'assistance and investigative support' in Wayne.
The church's senior pastors, Bobby Kelly Jr, told The Detroit News that a member ran the shooter over, giving the security guard a chance to shoot them.
'He (the suspect) was run over by one of our members who saw this happening when he was coming into church,' the pastor 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,' Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong said
Kelly added that there were about 150 people in attendance for the vacation Bible school service. Many of the attendees were children.
The pastor said that when the congregation initially heard noises outside, they thought it was from construction.
He said that the church hired security more than a decade ago in response to increased violence against places of worship.
Kelly said they felt like 'sitting ducks' without protection. The congregation's leadership is planning a meeting to put together a plan for dealing with the shooting's aftermath.
When asked about the children who witnessed the shooting, he said they were 'doing good' and that the congregation was coming together to support one another.
The church's official schedule had events listed from 9am to 6pm. CrossPointe also hosts adult and teen Sunday School and kids Sunday school at the church from 9.30 to 10.30am.
Wendy Bodin, a witness at the church, told ClickOnDetroit that she was in the lobby answering a phone call when she saw the attacker.
'It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been involved in,' Bodin recalled.
She said she initially thought the shooter just crashed his car, but then fled to the bathroom when she heard gunshots.
Bodin hid out in the bathroom with another churchgoer and eventually fled the building to meet the rest of the congregation in the woods.
'I was hiding in one of the bathrooms and stood on the toilet and shut the door. We didn’t know what was going on, but we knew it was bad,' she said.
She said she was grateful for security and the church leaders following protocol.
'Fortunately they got everyone out of the building safe. We did have one man for sure got shot in the leg, but he’s OK, from what I’ve been told. So, praise God,' she said.
Bodin said the church held services outside last weekend for Father's Day and was grateful the attack didn't happen then.
Declassified Emails Show Clapper's Role in Russiagate
Aug 14, 2025
6 min
US and Russia Plan West Bank-Style Occupation of Ukraine
Aug 14, 2025
2 min
Trump Issues Warning to Putin Ahead of Summit
Aug 14, 2025
2 min
Melania Threatens to Sue Hunter Over Epstein Claim
Aug 14, 2025
4 min
Harvey Weinstein to Be Tried for 3rd Time in NY
Aug 14, 2025
2 min
Government-Run Grocery Store in Kansas City Closes
Aug 14, 2025
2 min
TIFF Cancels Oct. 7 Documentary Over Hamas Copyright
Aug 14, 2025
2 min
Newsom: California to Draw New Congressional Maps
Aug 14, 2025
1 min
Trump Wins Appeal Allowing Foreign Aid Freeze
Aug 14, 2025
3 min
Texas AG Paxton Asks Judge to Arrest Beto O'Rourke
Aug 13, 2025
3 min
Marco Rubio: US Will Label Muslim Brotherhood a Terror Org
Aug 14, 2025
2 min
ICE Arrests Three MS-13 Gang Members
Aug 13, 2025
3 min
Cowboys' Jerry Jones Reveals He Survived Stage 4 Cancer
Aug 13, 2025
2 min
UK: Female Cops Jogging Undercover to Nab Catcallers
Aug 13, 2025
1 min
Trump Win: Mexico Extradites 26 Cartel Leaders to US
Aug 13, 2025
2 min
Texas House Dems to Return Home
Aug 13, 2025
1 min
Russia Breaks Through Ukrainian Frontline
Aug 13, 2025
4 min
Zelensky Not Invited to Trump-Putin Talks
Aug 13, 2025
2 min
Poll: Ukrainian Support for War Effort Collapses
Aug 13, 2025
3 min
MS-13 Member Sues Trump to Be ‘Recognized’ as Woman
Aug 13, 2025
1 min