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Trial for Tennessee church shooting suspect to start Monday

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2019, file photo, Emanuel Kidega Samson, center, enters the courtroom for a hearing in Nashville, Tenn. Prosecutors have said they're seeking life without parole for 27-year-old Samson, accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding several people at a Nashville church. His trial is slated to begin Monday, May 20. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

NASHVILLE — A man accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Nashville church is heading to trial.

Prosecutors have said they’re seeking life without parole for 27-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson, whose trial is slated to begin Monday.

Samson faces a 43-count indictment, including a first-degree murder charge, in the September 2017 shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ .

An arrest affidavit says Samson waived his rights and told police he arrived armed and fired at the church.

A psychiatrist has diagnosed Samson with “schizoaffective disorder bipolar type” and post-traumatic stress disorder after an abusive, violent upbringing.

Samson is black and the victims are white. Authorities haven’t definitively said whether they believe he targeted them based on race.

The Associated Press