President Donald Trump is praising the “heroes” who shot and killed the gunman who opened fire on churchgoers in a Texas church on Sunday.

Related: ‘Evil Exists and I Had to Take Out the Shooter in Church’

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Police said the men were volunteer security guards at the church, who did not hesitate to return fire at the gunman after he began shooting at parishioners inside the West Freeway Church of Christ in the city of White Settlement, Texas. (One of the heroes, Jack Wilson, is shown at the top of this article.)

Two men died and another was hospitalized when 43-year-old gunman Keith Thomas Kinnunen began firing on more than 200 churchgoers.

Trump wrote in a tweet on Monday that “lives were saved” by the men who returned fire, one of whom has since been identified as Jack Wilson, the 71-year-old head of security for the church.

See the president’s tweet below.

Trump also sent his condolences to the families of the victims, 64-year-old Anton Wallace and 67-year-old Richard White.

“Our prayers are with the families of the victims and the congregation of yesterday’s church attack. It was over in 6 seconds thanks to the brave parishioners who acted to protect 242 fellow worshippers,” Trump tweeted.

“Lives were saved by these heroes, and Texas laws allowing them to carry arms,” the president added.

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This tragedy comes after gun laws in Texas became more lenient on September 1 of this year, when Senate Bill 535 was passed, which allows licensed handgun owners to carry firearms into churches.

Under the new law, licensed handgun owners can legally carry their weapons into foster homes, public school grounds, and apartment buildings.

“We have learned many times over that there is no such thing as a gun-free zone. Those with evil intentions will violate the law and carry out their heinous acts no matter what,” said a co-sponsor of the bill, Texas state Sen. Donna Campbell.

“It makes no sense to disarm the good guys and leave law-abiding citizens defenseless where violent offenders break the law to do great harm,” Campbell added. ‘The existing statute is confusing and clunky when it comes to clearly stating the rights of licensed Texans to carry on the premises of a church.”

“This bill provides clarity of the legislature’s intent to treat churches in the same manner as other privately owned establishments in Texas,” Campbell also said.

This piece originally appeared in ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.

Read more at ThePoliticalInsider.com:
Video Emerges of Biden Ripping Texas Church Gun Law That Just Helped Stop a Shooter
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Ivanka Trump Asked if She Would Stay in D.C. If Father Was Re-elected, Family Needs to Come First

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