WASHINGTON — A shooting Sunday (Jan 3) morning in a church in northeastern Texas left one person dead and others wounded, officials said. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed in a statement that a suspect had been apprehended after the shooting in the Starrville Methodist Church in the town of Winona.

Few details were immediately confirmed, but ABC affiliate KLTV said the church's pastor pulled his gun when he found a man hiding in a restroom. It said the man lunged at the pastor, grabbed the gun and shot him dead.

KLTV said the man, who has not been identified, had been involved in a shooting incident the night before. It said he was shot and apprehended following a high-speed chase.

Mr Abbott said the state would "ensure that justice is served and that the Starrville community has the resources it needs during this time."

Winona lies about 100 miles (160km) east of Dallas; it has a population of about 525.

Texas has seen other church shootings in the past.

A shooting at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs on Nov 5, 2017, left 26 people dead and 20 wounded; it was the worst mass shooting in state history. Shooter Devin Patrick Kelley was later found dead.

Gun laws in Texas are among the laxest in the country. AFP