Two women were killed in a shooting on Sunday at Richmond Road’s Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky after a man shot a state soldier near the city airport, officials said. Two men were also injured in church firing.
The shooting near the airport with blue grass unfolded around 11:35 pm ET after the soldier was pulled over a Terminal Drive vehicle after receiving a signal to read registration plates.
The military was shot dead before the suspect escapes from the scene and abandoning a vehicle ending in the Baptist Church of Richmond Road about 15 miles, said Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Waters during a press conference on Sunday.
The preliminary information suggests that the suspect may have had a connection with the people in the church, Weathers said without being developed. Then the suspected “dismissed his weapons by church property,” he said.
Three responded officers shot a suspect who was declared dead at the scene.
The shooter was identified, but the police did not release his name. The shooter’s family has not been notified, employees said.
The victims who were killed were identified as Christina Combs at 34, and Beverly Gum, 72. The Faith County Coroner earlier defined the combs as 32.
Men who were injured in the shooting were transported to the hospital, Weathers said. One person is in critical condition and the other is stable, he added. The wounded soldier is also in stable condition.
The first shooting is not related to the airport, police said, although the employees there said it had influenced some of the Terminal Drive. “Our team is in place, directing passengers to open a parking lot. All flights and operations are already as usual,” said officers at X Airport.
“A very tightly woven group”
The church is described as a small and its councils are largely interconnected, coroner Faeta Gary Jin said during a press conference.
“This is a very tightly woven group of people in the Baptist Church in Richmond,” Jin said, adding that he was able to inform family members of death immediately.
The church is located in a rural area of Lexington, called the Old Richmond Road corridor. He is not far from a horse riding school and an alpaca breeder.
Her website describes it as “independent, remarkable, sovereign grace, missionary Baptist Church of the New Testament.” More than 800 of the pastor’s sermons are available on the church website.
A sermon in the church was live on Facebook during the shooting. Church pastor Jerry Gum had mentioned the death about 10 times in the sermon.
Officials thank the law enforcement authorities, offer prayers for the victims
In a statement, the Kentucky Government Andy Bear asked residents to thank the authorities for their response to the incidents.
“Please pray for everyone affected by these meaningless acts of violence, and let us thank for the quick response from the Lexington Police Department and the Kentucky State Police,” he said in an X.
Other employees on Sunday offered their prayers to the victims.
“Praying for the state soldier in Kentucky, wounded today and all parishioners injured in the Baptist Church of Richmond Road,” said Rep. X. Andy Bar of X. “I am watching this situation very carefully and I am grateful for the state police and the first responders involved in the answer.”
“Today, violence invaded the House of the Lord. The attack on the law enforcement and the people of faith in Lexington shocked the whole community,” Kentucky General Russell Coleman said in a statement.
In his own statement about X, Kentucky Rand Paul Senator said he was “sad to hear about tragic shootings.”
“We are grateful for the brave first responding. Violence like this has no place in Kentucky,” the senator said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Sarah Dubery and Susanna CNN’s cook have contributed to this report.
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com