Posted on 03/08/2009 10:38:10 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
MARYVILLE, Ill. – Illinois state police say a man has shot a pastor to death and injured others at an church during a service in the community of Maryville.
Illinois Master Trooper Ralph Timmins says the man walked down the aisle during the early Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Maryville.
He said the man exchanged words with pastor Fred Winters and then pulled out a .45-caliber handgun.
Timmins said the man fatally shot Winters once before the gun jammed, then pulled out a knife and wounded himself.
Churchgoers tried to subdue the attacker and two of them suffered minor injuries.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I read about that here on FR. Pitiful. The woman sounded as if she just quietly slipped into paranoid delusion, and it didn’t draw enough attention until it was too late, since she lived alone.
Is this a possible motive?
From:
http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/127236-gotv-and-the-pulpit
(Photo of Rev. Fred Winters to the right of the article.)
Some area clergy are becoming less shy about taking a stand on lightning rod issues—abortion and same sex marriage—carefully avoiding blatant endorsements of political candidates.
Without telling parishioners whom they should vote for, Pastor Rick Hufton of Faith Family Church in Swansea, did tell his flock Sunday to vote for pro life and anti-same-sex marriage candidates.
“There, I said,” Hufton said.
Forbidden from endorsing candidates lest a church lose its precious tax exempt status, a pastor’s message, veiled or not, carries weight.
“picture of perp?”
I’m guessing that nobody whipped out their cell phone to get one. Not gonna have one until police release an identity.
Could be...
We’ll know soon enough.
Churches ask you to turn off your cell phone. Lately I've just been leaving mine in the car, but maybe that's not a good idea...
From the article”
“While cultural and moral issues will be the focus of a pre-election sermon, the Rev. Fred Winters, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Maryville, is worried about other topical election issues, such as tort reform.”
You think he was shot by a deranged lawyer?
None of the more recent church shootings have been by Muslims.
Doubt it. Have no real knowledge of the area, but found it interesting that he was an outspoken Christian Pastor.
The Left cannot stand them.
Look at what they did to Sarah Palin’s Church after the Election. That was no accident, nor was it a local that did it.
I doubt it was a lawyer.
This may amplify what we previously posted.
Winters-
“I believe there are under-the-radar issues that are hard to address,” said Winters. “I’m very concerned about doctors leaving Madison County. We need to be informed.”
Winters said that even if he were allowed to endorse certain candidates, he wouldn’t. “It’s not something I would do,” he said.
But he will delve into God’s view of marriage and abortion, believing that the church has an obligation to give direction to its people.
“Not merely this is how to vote, but getting people to think what the issues are,” he said. “We definitely have an obligation to protect the church.”
Citing the book of Romans, Winters said Christians who don’t vote are “disobedient.”
But it was another pastor who was the REAL outspoken one. I really haven’t heard of an outbreak of liberals shooting up churches. One of the last ones in fact, was by some nut who claimed he was upset about the church’s “liberal teachings.”
“Lately I’ve just been leaving mine in the car, but maybe that’s not a good idea...”
No, it’s not. I never leave mine in the car at church.
And granted someone carrying a concealed weapon might not of been able to stop this guy from shooting the pastor but if the gun hadn’t jammed, there would possibly be more dead. Someone with a weapon of their own would save lives.
Listed below Fred Winters Picture:
(L to R) James Lewis, executive director of East St. Louis Board of Elections Commission; Doris Gray Jones, vice president of the Urban League; Terrie Holder, director of New Spirit and the Rev. Johnny Scott, NAACP chapter president and pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Venice.
http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/127236-gotv-and-the-pulpit
Sitting in a church with my back to the door scares the heebee jeebies out of me.
I hear you...
I went there earlier, and saw the photo of him, his wife, and his two daughters, in a country setting. Absolutely beautiful family.
The photo is linked on an earlier thread, but of course it can’t be seen while the site is closed.
I think they must have shut down the website because of too many visitors.
Funny they have no "privacy" issues with releasing the name of one of the victims, but the same hospital "could not provide" the name, condition or type of injuries for the perpetrator, the alleged perpetrator of course.
Generally arrests are public record. Why not release his name and picture from his driver's license, assuming he has one?
“Funny they have no “privacy” issues with releasing the name of one of the victims, “
It simply means the victim or his family has given permission. Notice that not all of the victim names have been published.
My home church has had a security team for the past three years. “gentle as doves...crafty as serpents”
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