Usher killed as gunman opens fire on church congregation

One person has been killed and eight others wounded after a gunman entered a church in Tennessee and opened fire with a shotgun, US police said today.

Knoxville police chief Sterling Owen said a long-standing church member was killed during the shooting this morning.

He identified the man killed as 60-year-old Greg McKendry, an usher at the church in Knoxville.

Police said the gunman is in custody.

A hospital spokeswoman said five of the wounded are in critical condition.

A church member who arrived moments after the shooting said the gunmen opened fire as the congregation watched a youth performance. He said none of those injured were children.