One woman and seven people were injured in a mass shooting at a church in the Nashville area as the morning service was ending.

Parishioners were leaving the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, in Antioch, close to Nashville, when a masked gunman opened fire in the parking lot.

One woman walking to her car was killed immediately by the gunman, according to Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron.

'A gunman wearing a neoprene mask arrived in the parking lot and one woman who was walking to her vehicle was immediately fatally wounded by the gunman,' Aaron said at a press conference, according to the Daily Mail.

After opening fire in the parking lot, the unnamed gunman then reportedly entered the main sanctuary of the church and opened fire. 

Aaron said the gunman, a 26-year-old African American man, was injured by a self-inflicted shot to the chest during a struggle with a church usher. 

The usher had bravely confronted the man after he entered the sanctuary and was, according to Aaron, pistol whipped.  However, he was able to get to his car in the parking lot to retrieve his gun, which he had a permit to carry, and re-entered the sanctuary to stop the gunman from doing any more harm until the police arrived.

'There was a significant struggle between the two,' he said. 'During the struggle, the gunman shot himself, probably not intentionally.

'This particular church member has a handgun carry permit,' Aaron added. 'The usher went to his vehicle, got his gun, came back inside and made sure the gunman didn't make anymore movements until the police department arrived.'

The injured are all adults and at least two are in critical condition, according to The Tennessean. 

The pastor, Joey Spann, and his wife Peggy were injured in the shooting, according to a statement by Bellevue school, where he leads Bible classes.

The school asked for prayers for the couple and all those impacted by events at the church as police work to establish the motive behind the attack.