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Church Shooting, Maryville, Illinois
Sunday, March 8, 2009 at 12:06 pm
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| Logo of First Baptist, Maryville |
It happened during early services this morning at the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois. A gunman mounted the stage and opened fire on the pastor and congregation. Up to 5 people [Fox News reports 6 people] were transported to nearby medical centers by helicopter, including the pastor, who was hit by at least 3 bullets. Early televised reports stated that the gunman was stabbed after he was bum-rushed by church members. It has since been reported that the attacker stabbed himself.
CNN reported that one person died from their injuries. Multiple sources including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have indicated that the deceased is pastor Fred Winters. There are conflicting reports that another victim has passed away as well.
Pastor Fred Winters
The injured gunman is in custody.
The following quote from an article on MSNBC's website tells more about how the events unfolded:
Church Member Ashley Shank, interviewed by KSDK, was not in the church at the time of the shooting but she did talk to others who said the gunman was wearing a hoodie and pulled the weapon out of the hoodie.
Just before the shooting, the pastor had reportedly asked the gunman, who was standing in the aisle of the church, whether he needed help with anything.
The following statement comes from the website for the church: "A prayer service will be held tonight at 6:00pm, March 8, 2009, at Metro Community Chuch in Edwardsville, IL."
Updates and revisions to follow.
Tags: church shooting, First Baptist of Maryville, Fred Winters, gunman, Maryville Illinois, pastor shot
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