Pat Dollard

Tweet

FOX:

1 Dead, 4 Injured in Shooting at First Baptist Church in Illinois

An Illinois pastor used the Bible he was reading out of to shield himself from bullets being pumped at him from an unknown gunman who opened fire during Sunday services at the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill.

Senior Pastor Fred Winters was preaching during the 8 a.m. service when a man entered the church, walked down the isle and started shooting, injuring five people, before being stabbed by a parishioner.

The suspect is in police custody.

Winters was shot three times, police said. He died at Anderson Hospital, a spokeswoman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Five other people were taken to local hospitals.

Police said there were about 150 people in the church at the time of the shooting.

Linda Cunningham was sitting near the back of the church when the gunman walked up the aisle. She told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch she figured the man was confused about what time the service started because of daylight savings time.

Cunningham told the Post-Dispatch she, as well as others, didn’t recognize the gunman.

Some parishioners believe the gunman used church bulletins to conceal his weapon.

“All you could see was confetti” Cunningham told the Post-Dispatch.

The church has an average attendance of more than 1,200 and was officially organized on March 4, 1945, according to their Web site.

STL Today:

Pastor is killed in Maryville church shooting

By Joel Currier and Michelle Munz

UPDATE

Larry Trent, director of the Illinois State Police, said during a 3:10 p.m. press conference in Collinsville that the killer of the Rev. Fred Winters is a 27-year-old man from Troy, Ill., whose motive remains unknown. The man has no criminal record nor a state firearms-owner ID, and as far as police know is not married.

“We haven’t spoken with him yet,” Trent said. “He’s still in surgery.”

The man walked into the First Baptist Church of Maryville about 20 minutes into this morning’s service, approached Winters, had a short conversation with him and then fired four times before his .45-caliber semi-autmatic handgun jammed, Trent said.

The first shot clipped a Bible, sending paper shreds into the air like “confetti.” Trent said one shot hit Winters, 45, in the chest.

“Some thought it was some type of skit or program at the time,” Trent said

Two members of the congregation jumped the gunman and were slashed with a knife that also wounded the gunman. One of the church members was treated at a hospital and released; the other was hospitalized. Trent called them “heroic” for stepping in.

Trent said the man in custody will not be identified publicly until charges are filed. He said church members said they did not recognize him, although it seemed the pastor might have. Police will review video and audio tapes made of the service, he said.

EARLIER STORY

By Joel Currier and Michelle Munz
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

MARYVILLE — Police say they do not know why a man walked into a service at the First Baptist Church in Maryville this morning and fatally shot the pastor.

The Rev. Fred Winters, said to be in his 40s, died at nearby Anderson Hospital of a gunshot wound to the chest, officials said.

The attacker, whose identity has not been released, was in serious condition at St. Louis University Hospital, where he was being taken into surgery for treatment of self-inflicted stab wounds.

The shooter refused to give authorities his name as he entered the operating room, the hospital said.

Ministers and other members of the church said that they did not recognize the shooter and could not fathom a motive but that it was possible he was a newcomer. The church has been rapidly attracting new families in the fast-growing, upscale area of Metro East.

Trooper Ralph Timmins of the Illinois State Police said the incident happened shortly after the service started about 8:15 a.m., with about 150 people present. The attacker walked to the pulpit, exchanged words with Winters and then shot him once.

Timmins said the .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol then jammed, and the gunman began stabbing himself with a knife. When members of the congregation moved to subdue him, two of them were slashed. Timmins said they suffered wounds that are not life-threatening. They were transferred via helicopters to other hospitals, an Anderson Hospital spokeswoman said.

One of them was identified as Terry Bullard, 39, who underwent surgery at St. Louis University Hospital and was in serious condition, authorities said.

Police would not say whether the attacker was a member of the church, at 7710 State Highway 162.

Church member Linda Cunningham said she and others didn’t recognize the shooter as being a member.

She said she was sitting near the rear of the church when the shooter walked up the center aisle. She said her initial thought was that the shooter had been confused about the starting time because of daylight savings time.

“But if he’s late, why doesn’t he take a seat in back instead of going all the way to the front?” she said she wondered.

When the shot was fired, it appeared to have been shot through paper. Some speculated that the shooter had concealed his weapon with church bulletins.

“All you could see was confetti,” Cunningham said.

Some people initially believed the incident was part of a dramatic sketch — something that’s common at the Rev. Winters’ services.

The Rev. Mark Jones, the church’s worshop minister since 2002, told reporters assembled outside the church that his members should remain calm.

“People cannot stop living their lives,” he said. “They cannot be paralyzed with fear.”

Many members of the congregation went to Anderson Hospital, where they learned Winters died.

Standing outside in bare feet, with mascara running, Lindsay Osborne, 18, said, “I’m in shock.”

Her mother, Carol Covinsky, 52, explained: “We were going to stand in the parking lot and pray for him, but they came out and told us they lost him in there.”

Friends and church members streamed in and out of the emergency room with tears running down their cheeks.

“He let God use him,” said parishoner Mike Witt, 30. “He was God’s instrument.”

According to the church website, Winters became senior pastor of the church in 1987 when it had an average attendance of 32 people. Today, the church has about 1,200 members.

Fred and Cindy Lee (Jackson) Winters were married September 12, 1987, and they have two children: Alysia Grace and Cassidy Hope. Fred Winters is the former president of the Illinois Baptist State Association and an adjunct professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, according to the church website.

PRAYER SERVICE

The website for the First Baptist Church says there will be a prayer service tonight at 6 p.m. at Metro Community Church at 3551 Ridgeview Road in Edwardsville.

Noting that space at Metro Community is limited, First Baptist Church has asked that the service tonight be reserved only for its members.