The gunman who killed two people and wounded three during a shooting rampage at a rural Kentucky church chillingly said, “Someone’s gonna have to die,” when he discovered the mother of his three children wasn’t there.
Beverly Gumm and her daughter, Star Rutherford, were in the basement of Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington on Sunday afternoon, preparing lunch for their congregation, when the shooter barged in demanding to speak with one of Rutherford’s sisters, the mother of his three kids, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Rutherford and her mother told the gunman, identified as Guy House, that she wasn’t there.
The deranged shooter then told them, “Well, someone’s gonna have to die then,” and opened fire, Rutherford told the outlet.
Gumm — a 72-year-old mother of eight — was able to avoid the first shot by ducking out of the way, but was then struck in the chest by the second shot, killing her.
He then exited the church and shot and killed Rutherford’s other sister, Christina Combs, 34, outside.
House then shot Gumm’s husband and the longtime pastor of Richmond Road Baptist Church, Jerry Gumm, and Combs’ husband, Randy Combs — critically injuring them.
Responding officers then arrived on the scene and exchanged fire with the suspect, killing him in the shootout.
The two injured victims were rushed to the University of Kentucky hospital for treatment.
Rutherford wrote on Facebook Sunday night that Randy Combs is “awake” while Jerry Gum is still “sedated from surgery.”
She told the Lexington Herald-Leader that her mother was a “faithful member of the church who loved God.”
Dasey “Patches” Rutherford, one of Star Rutherford’s sisters, shared that their mother’s “love language” was feeding the less fortunate.
Rachael Barnes, a third sister, told the outlet that Combs was a mother of five who had a 6-month-old baby and planned to graduate from nursing school in December.
The deadly spree started around 11:30 a.m. at the Blue Grass Airport, when a state trooper pulled over a car on Terminal Drive after a license plate reader gave an alert on the vehicle.
The suspect shot the trooper during that encounter, then fled the scene, leaving the officer in critical condition.
Larissa McLaughlin, who was at the airport with her husband, witnessed the beginning of the carnage while dropping off a rental car.
“It looked routine. He was outside talking to him through an open window,” McLaughlin told Lex 18. “And as we were driving by, I heard, ‘pop, pop’ and I knew it was gunshots.”
McLaughlin said she jumped out of her car, while her husband called 911, and ran into the airport to get help.
“I was trying to alert everyone at the airport and I just ran through screaming,” she recalled.
McLaughlin led Good Samaritans to the wounded trooper, who performed life-saving aid to the injured deputy.
After fleeing from the airport, the suspect carjacked a vehicle and drove about 15 miles to the Richmond Road Church, where he continued his killing spree before being taken down by responding officers.
The state trooper injured at the airport was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries but was in stable condition Sunday night.
Investigators are still working to discover the motive for the shootings.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked residents to thank law enforcement for their response to the shooting.
“Please pray for everyone affected by these senseless acts of violence, and let’s give thanks for the swift response by the Lexington Police Department and Kentucky State Police,” Beshear posted on X.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton also offered her prayers to the families of the victims in a statement.
“Like so many communities across the country, today our community has experienced a mass shooting, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. A state police trooper has also been injured,” she said.
“Our police have a strong partnership with state police. The agencies will work together to fully investigate this tragedy.”
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