DETROIT — Police on June 23 identified the heavily armed suspect who was fatally shot by security after he opened fire outside a Michigan church filled with worshipers as a man who attended the church with his mother.
Brian Browning, 31, was shot and killed on June 22 at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, a western suburb of Detroit. Browning had attempted to burst into a morning service at the church before another person tried to stop him with their truck, according to police.
The church's security team then intervened and exchanged gunfire, police said. One worshiper told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the church had trained for such a situation and credited it with protecting "all those attending," which included children.
"In today's society, any training that can preserve life is beneficial," Wayne Deputy Chief Finley Carter said, adding that people should "remain vigilant and remain aware and prepared for an event."
By late morning on June 23, police said it was still unclear why Browning had targeted the church, but detectives suggested that it may have been a result of a "mental health crisis." Browning had no previous contact with the Wayne Police Department or criminal history, authorities added.
