Bluegrass Community and Technical College has paid tribute to a devoted nursing student and mother of five, who was among two people killed in a shooting at Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday.

Christina Combs, 32, and her mother, Beverly Gumm, 72, were fatally shot when gunman Guy House, 47, entered the church after injuring a state trooper at Blue Grass Airport.

In a statement, college president Greg Feeney described Combs as “a remarkable individual, a devoted mother of five, and a committed student who worked tirelessly to become the best nurse she could be.”

He added: “Her passion for helping others was evident in every aspect of her life.”

Family members told local media that Gumm and her daughter were preparing lunch in the fellowship hall when House entered, asking for another sister.

“[He said] ‘I just want to speak to Angel,’ that’s our sister. My mother said, 'Angel is not here'. He said, ‘Well, I guess someone is gonna have to die then,’” Star Rutherford recalled.

House also injured two other family members, including Gumm’s husband, the church’s pastor. Both remain in hospital.