Wayne — On Sunday, mere hours after President Trump controversially ordered successful attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a 31-year-old white male from Romulus attempted a mass shooting at CrossPointe Church in Wayne.
According to Chief Ryan Strong of the Wayne Police Department, they began receiving multiple calls starting at 11:06 a.m., reporting an active shooter in the vicinity of CrossPointe, a large church with several hundred congregants, as Sunday services were underway.
Wayne Police, along with state and county law enforcement and federal agents, responded to the church and determined the shooter had arrived in a vehicle and began driving recklessly in the parking lot.
Moments after arriving, the shooter exited his vehicle wearing a Tek-Vest, carrying a long-gun and a handgun, and engaged with church staff standing outside. Two church members who were working as security guards and carrying firearms returned fire as the shooter opened fire from the parking lot.
Chief Strong stated that during the gunfight, one parishioner, described as a church deacon by sources, arrived for Sunday services in an unidentified vehicle, saw the shooter firing at the security staff, and headed toward the shooter in his vehicle.
The shooter began firing on the driver but was ultimately struck by that vehicle, at which point both security staff fired on the shooter, killing him.
According to Chief Strong, all three individuals involved in neutralizing the shooter have requested not to be identified at this time. In addition, Strong stated that both armed staff members were trained to respond to emergency situations, adding, “We are grateful for the heroic actions of those staff members who undoubtedly saved many lives.”
Within an hour of the shooting, a video pulled from Crosspointe’s streaming Sunday service was released onto social media depicting the parishioners running for safety inside the building as gunfire could be heard.
Michigan Enjoyer spoke with Brandon Henzel, a member of CrossPointe who was present inside the church at the time of the shooting. Henzel heard nine gunshots fired and assumed a gunman was inside the building.
“We immediately moved all the congregants, including several children, to safety inside the building,” said Henzel, still reeling from the day’s tragic events. “Nobody inside the church was hurt, but one of the guys outside was hit and blood was everywhere.”
Henzel stated he was aware that one of the security staff was hit in the leg with gunfire but was unsure of his current condition. He further stated did not know who the shooter was and was still unaware of the shooter’s identity as of Sunday night: “I don’t think he was a church member, or I’d know who he was.”
Henzel also refrained from identifying the heroic church staffers but described their actions as “totally awesome” for saving so many people.
Wayne Police confirmed the church staff member hit with gunfire was alive, but his current condition remained unknown.
As of Sunday evening, Wayne Police reported no known motive for the shooter and were unaware of any connection to CrossPointe or any members of the church. Police believe he was suffering from a mental health breakdown, citing witness statements who observed the event.
Michigan Enjoyer asked Chief Strong if he was aware that multiple social media accounts on Facebook and X are identifying the alleged suspect by name. Strong stated he was aware of that fact, refused to comment, and immediately ended questions.
However, later Sunday night and possibly due to photos of the alleged shooter being shared on social media, Wayne PD later identified the suspected shooter as 31-year-old Brian Browning of Romulus—confirming the name being leaked on social media—and in contrast to their original briefing, confirmed his mother was a member of the church. Police have indicated that the shooter may have attended services three times in the past year.
Questions and strange coincidences remain unanswered and unexplained. Lone acts of political violence seem on the rise and appear oddly focused on faith-based institutions.
Was this attempted mass shooting in response to the events in Iran or the violent unrest occurring in cities around the country in response to Trump’s immigration policies? That remains undetermined, and Wayne PD is careful and brief with their information thus far, but a mass shooting was also averted only one month ago at TACOM Army Base in Warren by another young man.
Much to the disappointment of local media on the scene, who were less interested in heroic deeds of brave churchgoers and more interested in the types of firearms the shooter was carrying, was the continually proven notion that good guys with guns can save lives.
I spoke with a church pastor in Livonia about the importance of security at churches or synagogues in light of recent events.
“Good guys with guns: a catchy metaphor harkening to a more romantic notion of inherent masculine protectiveness of the weakest among us. The reality of men seeking the faith is they are flawed bad men needing God in their lives, molding them into their better selves. Maybe the good guys are really bad men protecting the weak and meek from other bad men—doing God’s work, so to speak.”
Jay Murray is a writer for Michigan Enjoyer and has been a Metro Detroit-based professional investigator for 22 years. Follow him on X @Stainless31.
