What promised to be a ghastly church massacre in Michigan on Sunday was prevented by the speedy reactions of a church deacon and two staff members -- with the deacon unleashing the first blow with his truck before a security guard and another staff member polished off the assailant with gunfire. The drama played out at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, a western Detroit suburb. Police identified the dead shooter as Brian Anthony Browning, a 31-year-old white male with no known connection to the church.

Browning arrived at the church in Nissan truck shortly after 11 a.m., as a special vacation bible school service was underway, teeming with children and 150 congregants in all. Police say he was wearing a tactical vest and carrying both a handgun and a "long gun" (a pointlessly-vague police term that could describe either a rifle or shotgun). After gaining the attention of staff members by driving recklessly outside the building, Browning exited his vehicle and opened fire on the church. 

That's when he was met with a swift and decisive one-two punch. When a deacon saw the shooter moving toward the church, he immediately turned his Ford F-150 pickup truck into a two-ton weapon, hitting the gas and running Browning over as the fiend fired multiple rounds at him. ["The Ford works in mysterious ways," observes ZeroHedge reader Rattus in an instant-classic comment below.] That bought time for staff members to engage him with gunfire. "At least two staff members shot the gunman, causing fatal wounds," said Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong. One staffer suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, but is expected to fully recover after undergoing surgery. Though Browning was stopped "quite close" to the church, several of the rounds he fired entered it.  

Live-streamed video of the service captured the congregation's multistage reaction to the attack, which proceeded from distraction to confusion and then fearful retreat, with one of the leaders of the service beckoning everyone to move to the back of the building:

Churchgoer Doug Blair told Fox 2 Detroit that he first mistook the sound of gunfire for construction noises. After hearing someone announce an "active shooter," he ran to a door, propped it open and carefully took a look outside: 

"There was the shooter … on the ground. His weapon, I think he was still firing away, it was on the ground… right before I got to the door, you could hear it was going BAM, BAM, BAM. That's all you heard. When I opened the door, one of our security people was in front of him and one was on the other side of him. They were just both emptying their clips."

Chief Strong praised the swift and effective response. “We are grateful for the quick actions of the church’s staff members, who undoubtedly saved many lives and prevented a large-scale mass shooting,” he said. “I would add that the church parishioners and staff members were trained in responding to emergency situations, which also saved lives.”

The pastor and police say Browning did not appear to have ever been a member of the church, which is located about five miles away from his home in Romulus, Michigan. There's no word yet about a motive. "It appears he was suffering from a mental health crisis," Strong told reporters, an assertion based on interviews already conducted. Police say he had no criminal record, and little biographical information has surfaced thus far, with no reports about his work history. Photos are circulating on social media that purport to show Browning, but there are disputes about their authenticity. 

Chalk up another win for good guys with guns -- and a Ford F-150.