Suspect Identified in Kentucky Church Shooting

A suspect has been identified in Sunday’s deadly shooting spree in Lexington, Kentucky, that left two women dead, two men wounded, and a Kentucky State Trooper hospitalized.

Law enforcement told LEX 18 that the suspect has been identified as Guy House, a convicted felon with a long criminal history. House was shot and killed by police at the scene. House, who had previously been charged with first-degree fleeing and evading police, resisting arrest, and illegal possession of a handgun in 2022, was not legally allowed to own a firearm. Authorities are now investigating how he obtained the weapon used in the attack. Pictures and videos found online of House show him wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, which is regularly used to show support for the Hamas terrorist organization.

The two women who were killed have been identified as Beverly Gumm, 72, and Christina Combs, 32. Gumm, a mother of eight, and one of her daughters, Star Rutherford, had been in the church’s basement when House came to the door and asked for one of the Rutherford sisters, who was the mother to his three children, per the Lexington Herald-Leader. When he was told she wasn’t there, he allegedly responded, "Well, someone is gonna have to die, then," and opened fire.

Gumm ducked and avoided the first shot, but the second hit her chest, killing her. House then allegedly went outside and shot another one of the Rutherford sisters, Combs, and injured Gumm’s husband and longtime pastor of the church, Jerry, as well as Combs’ husband, Randy Combs. Rachael Barnes, one of the sisters, told the outlet late Sunday that the two men were in critical but stable conditions.

House fled the scene and carjacked a vehicle nearby. No one was hurt during the carjacking. Using surveillance and intelligence tools, police tracked House to Richmond Road Baptist Church. There, he opened fire on churchgoers.

Three Lexington police officers confronted House at the church and shot him. He died at the scene. The officers have been placed on administrative assignment, which is standard during use-of-force investigations.