In a decision that took nearly 10 minutes to read out Friday afternoon, a jury declared Emanuel Samson guilty on all 43 counts in a fatal shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, which left one person dead and seven wounded.
The jury will return to discuss the sentencing on Tuesday.
During the trial, congregants of the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ testified about the hail of bullets and the bloody scene that unfolded in front of them just after their Sunday worship service concluded on Sept. 24, 2017. Some had the gunshot wounds to show for it.
The shooting rampage killed 38-year-old Melanie L. Crow of Smyrna. She was shot in the church parking lot.
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Samson, 27, is black; the victims are white. Samson left a note about a 2015 shooting massacre at a South Carolina black church and aimed to kill at least 10 white churchgoers in revenge, Deputy District Attorney Amy Hunter said.
Samson testified that he didn’t remember committing the crime. He said his mental health disorders have caused lapses in memory and constant shifts from feelings of ecstasy to the thoughts of suicide he said he experienced the morning of the shooting. He said his memory kicks in at the tail end of the church shooting, when he was shot in the chest during a tussle with a congregant who authorities say saved lives.
Jurors deliberated less than five hours before delivering the verdict against Samson.
Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence without parole.
Key Moments From The Trial
Samson took the stand himself Wednesday and told jurors he was feeling suicidal that morning in September and was driving toward Percy Priest Lake, which is just beyond the church.
“It just becomes pretty blurry,” he said as his attorney walked him through the timeline. “I vaguely remember what I was thinking, what I was doing. I remember driving, but not exactly where or how far.”
Samson said he heard voices that day, and he recalls shooting himself in the church but not any of the victims. He was put on high-powered anti-depressants once he was treated at the hospital.
Prosecutors, however, have suggested Samson’s shooting spree was racially motivated. And they played jail calls in which Samson and his then-girlfriend joked about the shooting spree. Samson said in one of the calls that he and his girlfriend were able to “look at the humor in any situation.” The two also bragged about how good he looked in news coverage.
Samson’s father told jurors he asked police to take his son’s guns away, but they didn’t do it.
Vanansio Samson testified that he was worried about his son’s mental health after receiving text messages about suicide. But Vanansio says police informed him it was against the law to take away Emanuel Samson’s guns.
The Case For Premeditation
Prosecutors pinned their arguments on a note found in Samson’s car. In it, he wrote that he intended to kill a minimum of 10 white people at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ — to one-up Dylann Roof. The white supremacist killed nine African-Americans in a South Carolina church in 2015.
A long list of witnesses inside the church were also called to testify, and each made points that bolstered the accusation that Samson planned the shooting. Church members like Muriel Luker described how Samson was dressed.
“White mask, that’s all I saw,” she said. “I thought, is this some kind of nightmare or something? I thought this can’t be happening at this church.”
Investigators also showed the tactical vest they say Samson wore.
Witnesses Testify
One of the first witnesses to take the stand was Caleb Engle, who was pistol-whipped by Samson but wrestled him to the ground. In the process, the gun shot at Samson.
Engle retrieved his own gun from the parking lot and held Samson until police arrived. “I said, ‘I have a 45-caliber with hollow points loaded, pointed right at you,'” he recalled.
Engle and many other church members sat through much of the trial since Monday.
WPLN’s Emily Siner and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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