Free Republic

Sunday March 13, 2005 10:46 PM By JULIET WILLIAMS and RYAN NAKASHIMA Associated Press Writers BROOKFIELD, Wis. (AP) - The man who fatally shot seven people during a quiet church service before turning the gun on himself was on the verge of losing his job and upset over a sermon he heard two weeks ago, investigators said Sunday. Terry Ratzmann left no suicide note and gave no explanation for the killings during Saturday's weekly meeting at a suburban Milwaukee hotel. It was unclear what specifically upset him, but Ratzmann was a member of the Living Church of God, a denomination...

<p>Five people are dead and up to eight others injured after gunfire broke out during a regularly scheduled church meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield. Police say that the suspect is among the five dead.</p>

US police are struggling to establish a motive for a shooting spree at an evangelical church service that killed eight people, including the gunman. Terry Ratzmann, 44, shot dead seven churchgoers in Brookfield, Wisconsin, before turning the gun on himself. No suicide note was found during a search of his property, according to police chief Daniel Tushaus. Neighbours meanwhile have described Ratzmann as a quiet, devout man with a passion for trout and tropical plants. He regularly attended services at the Living Church of God, an evangelical group that met at Brookfield's Sheraton hotel to mark the Sabbath on Saturdays....