Fred Winters, the pastor of the First Baptist Church, was shot and killed during the 8 a.m. service, and the attacker and two parishioners suffered knife wounds in the attack, authorities said.
The gunman entered during the service and walked up to the pulpit.
Winters and the gunman apparently exchanged words before the 27-year-old man fired four shots, hitting the pastor's Bible and then the pastor, said Illinois State Police Director Larry Trent.
"The only thing we know is that the suspect said something to the pastor and the pastor said something back to him -- we don't know what that was," Trent told reporters Sunday afternoon. "It was almost as if the pastor may have recognized him, but we're not sure about that at all."
The gunman's .45-caliber pistol jammed after he shot Winters, Trent said. The man then pulled out a knife before being tackled by some of the approximately 150 worshippers attending the service in southern Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri.
The Illinois shooting is believed to be the nation's first in a church since July, when a 58-year-old man opened fire in a Knoxville, Tennessee, church during a children's play. Two people were killed and six wounded in that shooting at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
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In the Tennessee case, Jim Adkisson told police he targeted the church because of its "liberal teachings," according to court papers. Adkisson pleaded guilty last month in a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty and will face life in prison without parole, court officials said. –CNN
To read more click here.
The gunman entered during the service and walked up to the pulpit.
Winters and the gunman apparently exchanged words before the 27-year-old man fired four shots, hitting the pastor's Bible and then the pastor, said Illinois State Police Director Larry Trent.
"The only thing we know is that the suspect said something to the pastor and the pastor said something back to him -- we don't know what that was," Trent told reporters Sunday afternoon. "It was almost as if the pastor may have recognized him, but we're not sure about that at all."
The gunman's .45-caliber pistol jammed after he shot Winters, Trent said. The man then pulled out a knife before being tackled by some of the approximately 150 worshippers attending the service in southern Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri.
The Illinois shooting is believed to be the nation's first in a church since July, when a 58-year-old man opened fire in a Knoxville, Tennessee, church during a children's play. Two people were killed and six wounded in that shooting at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
advertisement
In the Tennessee case, Jim Adkisson told police he targeted the church because of its "liberal teachings," according to court papers. Adkisson pleaded guilty last month in a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty and will face life in prison without parole, court officials said. –CNN
To read more click here.
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