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1 dead in Illinois Church Shooting
Yahoo & AP ^ | 3/8/09 | JIM SUHR

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 ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: banglist; churchshooting; fredwinters; maryville; sedlacek
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
Notice in that story the account of the lay minister, who likely was there, with that of the "Master Trooper", who probably was not. The lay minister says the pastor was shot in the heart and neck, the trooper says he was only shot once. Fox's website story indicated he was shot 3 times, and that 4 others were wounded by gunfire, and two had knife wounds.

From the story:

He said he and other church members were praying for the gunman. "He's still alive, so there's still a chance for him to turn his life around and find the Lord."

Or to die and find his true master. Guess, I'm not as charitable as the folks at First Baptist, Maryville.

41 posted on 03/08/2009 12:26:50 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: Myrddin

That or the mag spring was shot.


42 posted on 03/08/2009 12:30:15 PM PDT by Mathews (Ambition, absent a moral compass, is naked destruction.)
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To: gracesdad
It simply means the victim or his family has given permission. Notice that not all of the victim names have been published.

I thought of that as well, but it doesn't explain why the police haven't released his name. I guess it's possible he had no ID, and since no one at the church recognized him, the police do not yet know who he is, but it seems unlikely he wouldn't be carrying any ID. Even thugs generally get driver's licenses.

The hospital that people, including both the pastor and his killer, were taken to first is very close to the church, just 600-700 yards, with both on the same road.

43 posted on 03/08/2009 12:36:46 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: Mathews
That or the mag spring was shot.

Or the trooper was mistaken. Other stories, such as the one on Fox, indicate that Pastor Winters was shot 3 times, and 4 others were also shot, and that 2 had knife wounds. They report 5 others, in addtion to the Pastor and the killer, transported to the hospital.

If all that's true, the killer may have just shot the gun dry. Typical .45 has 7 round magazine, and if the magazine was not topped off after loading, then that's 7 rounds available. Rather than jamming, the slide may have locked back on an empty magazine.

It should all get sorted out shortly. At minimum they should have already counted the shell casing(s) lying about.

44 posted on 03/08/2009 12:46:27 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: El Gato

If this attack has an Islamic terrorist connection, you will hear nothing about it after today. If the shooter is a garden-variety lunatic with no politically correct motivations, for the next week or so you will hear news stories about how .45 caliber handguns are “too powerful” for citizens to be allowed to own. There will also be stories about how the killer, who probably has a long history of violent crime and/or mental illness, is a “typical American” who happened to have access to a gun.


45 posted on 03/08/2009 12:46:32 PM PDT by Wilhelm Tell (True or False? This is not a tag line.)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Wow, Maryville is just North of me. I have a feeling these events are only going to get worse.


46 posted on 03/08/2009 1:25:31 PM PDT by randomhero97 ("First you want to kill me, now you want to kiss me. Blow!" - Ash)
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To: Senormechanico
Muzzie?

Secular Humanist Fundamentalist!

47 posted on 03/08/2009 1:30:45 PM PDT by Pontiac (Your message here.)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
Here is the photo of the pastor and his family that is on the web site:


48 posted on 03/08/2009 1:46:35 PM PDT by jwparkerjr (God Bless America!)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Someone needs to be tried and publicly hung. And, not allowing concealed carry should also bring chargers against lawmakers who propose such restrictions in violation of the 2nd Amendement. When are we going to get decent government? When???


49 posted on 03/08/2009 1:51:00 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: PeteePie
My home church has had a security team for the past three years. “gentle as doves...crafty as serpents”

Do you know what their responsibilities are?

50 posted on 03/08/2009 5:18:43 PM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: El Gato
He said he and other church members were praying for the gunman. "He's still alive, so there's still a chance for him to turn his life around and find the Lord."

It's better if the gunman just dies to spare the family the ordeal of a trial. Plus, it's possible that he'd be released early and be out on the street years from now.

51 posted on 03/08/2009 5:21:26 PM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: jwparkerjr

Beautiful photo....


52 posted on 03/08/2009 5:21:48 PM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Cicero

A Message About Today’s Loss (from the church’s website)

Today, a little after our 8:15 service began, a man entered First Baptist Church and fired several gunshots at our Senior Pastor, Dr. Fred Winters. Pastor Winters was taken to the hospital but died of his wounds.

Please pray for Dr. Winter’s family, our two brave members who were injured when they stopped the assailant, for the assailant himself and his family, and for our church members as they deal with this tragic loss.

In this day, where uncertainty seems to abound creating an environment in which people are vulnerable in doing things they might not do otherwise, one thing is certain, we, as human beings need a foundation upon which we can live our lives.

We at First Baptist Maryville, along with other Christian believers, share this conviction: that foundation is God’s Word. In the pages of the Book we call the Bible, we find the pathway for peace, hope, and a quality of living life despite what circumstances we find ourselves in.

To those who believe in the power of prayer, we covet your prayers right now.

http://www.fbmaryville.org/


53 posted on 03/08/2009 5:24:51 PM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
Sure do. I was on the team until I left for Iraq. We observed and reported via two-way radio on any interesting characters who showed up. This helped establish our presence as something other than usher or greeter. Our church serves a free lunch and also buses in people from the local shelters - some of who's main interest is just the meal. Some of them are still processing Saturday's alcohol you see so they have the potential for unpredictable behavior. We also receive sex offender profiles from the police on a regular basis and help to watch for those and yes, we've had one or two grace us with their presence. We also patrol the parking lot and made our presence known to any loitering youth groups who happen to be in the school playground across the street. We also did regular sweeps of the building to ensure things were in order and no kids were ditching their Sunday school class. The ushers also report any unusual behavior amongst the congregation. There have been several occasions where we had to pull people out. At offering time we escort the funds to the business office and post outside the locked door until the money is locked in the safe. We also post up in the sanctuary whenever the congregation may be out of their seats, such as going forward for prayer, communion, and any other time unknowns have access to the pastor. When we first instituted a “security” team, many people thought it was over the top, me included until I decided to find out for myself what the deal was. My eyes were opened in a big way to all the issues and potential problems that the team helps keep from general knowledge.
54 posted on 03/08/2009 6:18:32 PM PDT by PeteePie (Antique firearms - still deadly after all these years)
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To: PeteePie

Very good...

Our church also has people patrolling the parking lot, but I don’t know what other security measures they have.


55 posted on 03/08/2009 6:22:18 PM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
We’ve come to the point in this country where churches need security...

I remember things like this happening in the 1970's. Sad as it is I don't think much has changed except that we used to only hear about things like this when it happened in our local area.

56 posted on 03/08/2009 6:25:27 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (Faith Manages.)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

It broke my heart to see those smiling faces.

It is my firm belief that this man is with his Lord, now and the eternity he has before him in God’s presence far outweighs anything this world has to offer. Even that beautiful family.


57 posted on 03/08/2009 8:51:37 PM PDT by jwparkerjr (God Bless America!)
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To: Myrddin
Latest story at Fox News has the gun jamming afer the 4th round. The first one was stopped, or deflected, by the pastor's Bible. The next three hit him.

That disagrees with the "5 others transported" to the local hospital (600-700 yards from the Church).

The St. Louis paper has a more recent story.

Police removed gun cases and a computer late this afternoon from the Troy, Ill., home of a man suspected of shooting Pastor Fred Winters at a church about two miles away.

Officials would not comment at the scene, but vehicle records show the home in the first block of Zachary Court is the address of Terry Joe Sedlacek, 27, who co-owns a Jeep Wrangler parked outside the crime scene.

Illinois State Police Director Larry Trent said earlier in the day that the vehicle, which was kept under guard, was believed to have been used by the attacker. Trent described the gunman as a 27-year-old who lives in Troy.

Trent declined to confirm the man’s name, pending filing of charges. But a source close to the case confirmed tonight that Sedlacek is the suspect.
...
The man exchanged a few words with Winters and then opened fire with a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol. The first shot hit a Bible, sending paper into the air like "confetti," Trent said. One of three more shots hit Winters in the chest. Nobody else was shot.
...
Two church members wrestled the attacker down as he slashed them, and himself, with a knife.

I read that as he was being subdued by the two members of the Church, and slashed at them with the knife, and may have gotten stabbed in the melee, rather than deliberately stabbing himself. We'll see.

58 posted on 03/08/2009 10:21:48 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: PeteePie

Sounds like a good plan. It make seem “over the top” until it’s needed. Better to have it and not need it...

I condemn Illinois, because a citizen isn’t allowed to carry a gun - only criminals.

But in this case I don’t know what better security could have done - he started squeezing off shots and the gun jammed. You’d be in condition yellow, see this guy going up, go to condition orange, then when he started shooting you’d be lucky if you could draw, rush and take a bead before it was over.


59 posted on 03/08/2009 10:22:56 PM PDT by Fido969 ("The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax." - Albert Einstein)
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To: El Gato

The news media will generally only release the names of criminals once charges have been filed.

With living victims, identification come when family releases the info. With deceased victims identification is after the family has been notified.


60 posted on 03/08/2009 10:31:43 PM PDT by MediaMole
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