GUILTY

Emanuel Samson Found Guilty of Murder in Antioch Church Shooting

The 2017 shooting left one woman dead and seven others injured.

A Tennessee man has been convicted of murder for a shooting at a Nashville church in 2017 that left one woman dead and seven others injured. Emanuel Samson, 27, was found guilty on 43 charges, including first-degree murder in the death of Melanie Crow, who was walking through the parking lot of Burnette Chapel Church of Christ on Sept. 24, 2017, when Samson shot her three times. The other charges include attempted murder for injuring seven other church members, three counts of civil rights intimidation, and 24 counts of aggravated assault.The verdict was a resounding victory for prosecutors, who said at trial that Samson, who is black, planned to kill 10 white churchgoers in retaliation for a 2015 church shooting in which nine black worshipers were slain. Samson testified during his trial that because of his mental illnesses, he does not remember if he shot at the church.