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Church gunman kills 2, shoots self to death, police say

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(CNN) -- Police in Moscow, Idaho, raided a church early Sunday where a gunman had holed up after shooting and killing two people.

The gunman killed a police officer and a civilian and wounded two others before apparently turning the gun on himself, authorities said.

Around 6 a.m., SWAT teams stormed the church and found the body of the shooter and another man in separate rooms on the main floor, Moscow Police Department Assistant Chief David Duke said.

The civilian male apparently killed by the shooter has not yet been identified. The shooter died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Duke said.

Police found a semi-automatic or automatic rifle next to one of the bodies along with casings and bullets in the church and four empty magazines outside the church, Duke said.

Incident began Saturday night

Police believe the gunman, who appeared to be in his 20s or 30s, initially began shooting at the sheriff's dispatch center from a parking lot near the Moscow courthouse, shortly before 11:30 p.m. Saturday (2:30 a.m. ET).

Officer Lee Newbill and Deputy Brannon Jordan responded to the shooting and came under fire, Duke said.

In less than an hour, both men and a civilian bystander had been wounded.

All three were taken to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow.

Newbill, who joined the police department in 2001, died at the hospital hours later -- the first Moscow police officer to be killed in the line of duty, Duke said.

Jordan and the civilian were listed in serious condition, a statement from the hospital said.

Initial reports put the number of rounds fired at 30 to 40. Duke said he did not know how many shots were fired, but that it was a "large number."

The last gunshot was heard around 1 a.m.

Moscow, home to the University of Idaho, is a city of about 21,000 residents in the state's northwestern section.

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