Michigan church shooter previously attended service with his mother before plowing into congregation armed with AR-15

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 - A man who opened fire on a church with an AR-15 has been identified as a 31-year-old who attended the church with his mother.

Brian Browning, 31, was sh0t de@d 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 sho0ting.

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 sho0ter 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.

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 sh0oting'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.