WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas — A Texas grand jury declined Monday to indict a church security guard who killed a man captured on video shooting two congregants.
Jack Wilson, the head of the West Freeway Church of Christ’s volunteer security team, shot Keith Kinnunen after he opened fire in the house of worship Dec. 29, killing Richard White and Anton Wallace.
Tim Rodgers, chief prosecutor for the Law Enforcement Incident team in the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, called the grand jury’s decision not to take action against Wilson the right one.
“Texas law allows an individual, when they witness somebody placing others at risk of serious bodily injury or death, to act with deadly force to protect the other individuals,” Rodgers said in a news release. “Mr. Wilson did just that. He did it responsibly and, as a result, he was justified under the law in his actions.”
A grand jury has declined to indict Jack Wilson — the volunteer security guard who shot and killed a gunman that opened fire in a Texas church last winter, killing two congregants.https://t.co/PHhQHn4chV
— NPR (@NPR) September 29, 2020
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Wilson fired a single shot at Kinnunen, which fatally struck him in the head, and the entire ordeal was recorded on both the church’s live-streamed video of the service and its security cameras.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott awarded Wilson the Governor’s Medal of Courage in January for his actions, NPR reported.
“When faced with an evil that few of us will ever comprehend, Jack Wilson responded with strength, bravery, and with love for those in the church that day,” Abbott said at the time. “The courage in his actions cannot be understated, and Jack is not only a hero to West Freeway Church of Christ — he is a hero to the entire state of Texas.”
Cox Media Group
