Slain Pastor Blocked 1st Shot With a Bible

Man, 27, charged with murder in 'deteriorating' mental state

(NEWSER) - The 27-year-old man charged today with murder and aggravated battery in yesterday’s Illinois church shooting was suffering mentally and physically from Lyme disease, his attorney tells the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat. Terry Joe Sedlacek was ordered held without bail, though he’s still in the hospital recovering from self-inflicted knife wounds, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds. More»

Three others injured, including suspect

(AP) - Illinois state police say a man shot a pastor to death and injured others at a church during a service in Maryville. Master Trooper Ralph Timmins says the man walked down the aisle during the early Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Maryville, exchanged words with pastor Fred Winters, and then pulled out a .45-caliber handgun. More»

Shooter targeted wife, according to calls to cops

(NEWSER) - At least one person was killed and four seriously injured last night when a gunman opened fire at a Korean Christian retreat in southern California, reports the AP. The gunman was believed to be one of the injured. It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the carnage, but a phone call to cops for help reported the gunman shot his wife. "We have some nuns who are very distraught," said a police spokesman. More»

(AP) - Authorities say the Alabama gunman who killed 10 people and himself in a rampage yesterday had once trained as a police officer. Michael McLendon, 28, briefly went through officer training in 2003, but didn't complete the requirements to join the force. Investigators still aren't sure what led McLendon to go on the shooting spree in south Alabama. "He cleaned his family out," said one official. More»

Authorities baffled on motive; Lyme 'doesn't cause' shooting: expert

(NEWSER) - The man charged with killing an Illinois pastor during a Sunday service appears to have planned the attack, having marked the date “Death Day” in his planner, the AP reports. But authorities are still stymied over a motive behind the attack. Terry Sedlacek was a quiet kid working in his family’s restaurant before he was hospitalized; afterward, he behaved strangely, sometimes barking and jerking his body. More»