WikiMini

2025 Lexington shootings

2025 Lexington shootings
Richmond Road Baptist Church in 2011
Map
LocationLexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Coordinates37°56′24″N 84°24′20″W / 37.9399°N 84.4055°W / 37.9399; -84.4055
DateJuly 13, 2025
c.11:35 a.m. (EST)
Attack type
Mass shooting, spree shooting, killing spree
Deaths3 (including the perpetrator)
Injured3
PerpetratorGuy E. House
MotiveUnder investigation

On July 13, 2025, a series of shootings took place in Lexington, Kentucky, United States that left three people dead, including the perpetrator, along with three others critically wounded, including a state trooper that was shot twice during the initial shooting.

Shootings

[edit]

The shooting began around 11:35 am EST when 47-year-old Guy E. House shot a Kentucky State Police trooper near Blue Grass Airport on Terminal Drive during a traffic stop in which the trooper had received a license plate reader alert.[1][2]

After shooting the trooper, he then committed a carjacking before driving approximately 15 miles to the Richmond Road Baptist Church while being pursued by police officers.[3] House entered the church through a back door and asked if the mother of his three children was in attendance. Parishioners told House that she wasn't there, to which he responded that "someone is gonna have to die" before opening fire.[4]

House shot 72-year-old Beverly Gumm in the chest, killing her, inside the church before going outside where he killed 34-year-old Christina Combs and injured Gumm's husband and the church pastor.[4] House was then confronted by police who shot and killed him.[5][3]

Perpetrator

[edit]

Subsequent to the shooting, the perpetrator was identified as 47-year-old Guy E. House (June 20, 1978 – July 13, 2025), a native from Pewee Valley, Kentucky who lived in Lexington throughout most of his life.[6] According to The Independent, House has a lengthy criminal history dating all the way back to his first crime in 1999, which includes two speeding charges out of Ohio in 2011, as well as auto theft in Kentucky.[7] On September 11, 2022, House was arrested and charged with 1st degree fleeing and evading, resisting arrest, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.[8][7][9]

Public reaction

[edit]

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear responded on X writing "I'm heartbroken to share the shooting in Lexington at Richmond Road Baptist Church has taken the lives of two people. Other injuries — including a Kentucky State Police trooper from the initial stop — are being treated at a nearby hospital. The shooter has also been killed."[10]

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton issued a statement and offered her prayers to the victims stating "Like so many communities across the country, today our community has experienced a mass shooting, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.[10]

The following week, on July 20, the church reopened for Sunday services. Rachel Barnes, who lost her mother and a sister in the attack, said that "We're all just trying to stick together and help each other".[11]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Von Rehbein, Cindy; Quednow, Matt (July 13, 2025). "Lexington, Kentucky shooting: 2 dead, suspect killed at Richmond Road Baptist Church after man shot a state trooper". CNN. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  2. ^ "KSP identifies trooper shot near Blue Grass Airport". WKYT-TV. July 16, 2025. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Drenon, Brandon (July 14, 2025). "Two women killed at Kentucky church as gunman opens fire after shooting officer". BBC News. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Spears, Valarie Honeycutt (July 14, 2025). "Women killed in KY church shooting were mother and daughter, died 'serving the Lord'". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  5. ^ Powell, Curadhan (July 19, 2025). "KSP releases names of 3 Lexington officers who killed suspect in deadly shooting spree". WLKY. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  6. ^ Powell, Curadhan (July 14, 2025). "47-year-old suspect in deadly Lexington church shooting identified". WLKY. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Gunman in deadly Kentucky church shooting identified as aspiring local rapper". The Independent. July 14, 2025. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  8. ^ "Lexington police arrest suspect after manhunt". LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX). September 11, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  9. ^ "Three dead, including gunman, in Kentucky shootings at church and airport". NBC.
  10. ^ a b Pollina, Richard (July 14, 2025). "Gunman in Kentucky church shooting declared, 'Someone's gonna have to die,' after learning intended target wasn't there". Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  11. ^ "Lexington church holds service 1 week after deadly shooting". WLEX-TV. July 21, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.