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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: church shootings

church shootings stories: 18 news summaries
updated

 Police Arrest 
 Suspect in 
 Murder of 
 Abortion Doc 

Obama 'shocked and outraged' by killing

May 31, 09 3:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Police in Wichita, Kan., have arrested a 51-year-old male suspect in the murder of abortion doctor George Tiller, who was gunned down today as he walked into church, the Wichita Eagle reports. Wichita police Capt. Brent Allred did not name the suspect but did say other agencies, including the FBI,... More »

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abortion • Wichita • church shootings • shooting • pro-life • anti-abortion activists • George Tiller

Alleged Church Shooter Pleads Not Guilty

Lawyer enters plea
on behalf of suspect
still in Ill. hospital

Mar 11, 09 1:46 PM CDT
(AP) - An attorney for the man accused of gunning down an Illinois pastor and wounding two churchgoers with a knife entered a not guilty plea for his client today, and asked for a jury trial. The man, Terry Sedlacek, 27, is charged with murder and aggravated battery in Sunday's attack at... More »

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murder • trial • plea • church shootings • Terry Joe Sedlacek • Fred Winters

Church Shooter Marked 'Death Day' in Planner

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

Mar 10, 09 12:23 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Illinois • Lyme disease • church shootings • shooting • pastor • Terry Joe Sedlacek • Fred Winters

Lawyer: Lyme Disease Afflicted Church Shooter

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

Mar 9, 09 1:28 PM CDT
(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... More »

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crime • murder • church • Illinois • gunman • church shootings • shooting • motive • Terry Joe Sedlacek • Fred Winters

Slain Pastor Blocked 1st Shot With a Bible

As confetti flew, Illinois parishioners thought it was a skit

Mar 9, 09 7:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - What drove the shooting death of a pastor at an Illinois Baptist church service yesterday remains a mystery, as more details emerge, the Chicago Tribune reports. After exchanging words with the gunman who walked toward him, the pastor blocked the first of four rounds of bullets with a Bible, sending... More »

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crime • murder • Illinois • Bible • gunman • church shootings • shooting • motive • pastor • Bill Maher Grid

 Pastor Killed in Ill. 
 Church Shooting 

Three others injured, including suspect

Mar 8, 09 2:08 PM CDT
(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,... More »

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crime • church • Illinois • church shootings • shooting • pastor • knife • guns

ANALYSIS

 Is Killing Liberals a Hate Crime? 

Slate finds few states consider political violence a hate crime

Jul 31, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - The suspect in last weekend’s Knoxville church shooting told police that “liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country.” But Tennessee, like the federal government and most states, doesn’t extend hate-crime law to political affiliation, explains Chris Wilson in Slate. In fact, legal experts... More »

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law • hate crime • Tennessee • liberals • church shootings

Letter: Tenn. Gunman Hated 'Liberals,' 'Gays'

Adkisson details deep disdain for groups, inability to find work

Jul 28, 08 12:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - A letter found in the vehicle of a gunman who killed two people at a Tennessee church yesterday indicated a deep hatred of liberals and gays, and frustration over unemployment, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The liberal Unitarian church claims involvement with social causes dating to the 1950s, and hosts... More »

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suicide • homophobia • church • Tennessee • church shootings • Knoxville • Unitarian

UPDATED

 Gunman Charged in Deadly
 Attack on Tenn. Church

Children were performing Annie when attack occurred

Jul 27, 08 4:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - A gunman opened fire at a Knoxville, Tenn., Unitarian church today, killing two and wounding seven others before he was subdued, CNN reports. He was later charged with first-degree murder in the death of the first victim. The attack occurred about 10am while children were performing the musical Annie, church... More »

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crime • church • Tennessee • church shootings • mass shootings

Gunman in Custody Battle Opens Fire at Church Fair

He's tackled by 'hero' bystanders

May 18, 08 7:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Three people were wounded yesterday when a gunman involved in a child custody battle opened fire on his ex-girlfriend at a church school festival in San Fernando Valley, reports the Los Angeles Times. Families ran screaming as the gunman nonchalantly lifted his rifle and began squeezing off rounds in front... More »

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crime • gun injury • church shootings • mass shootings • child custody • custody battle • guns

FBI Warned on Colorado Shooter

Internet forum alerted feds after anti-Christian postings

Dec 12, 07 12:34 PM CST
(Newser) - The FBI was alerted to Internet postings supposedly written by Colorado church shooter Matthew Murray between his two rampages, the AP reports. The operator of the forum for the Association of Former Pentecostals said a member contacted the FBI the day of the shootings after “nghtmrchild26,” thought to... More »

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Colorado • New Life Church • gunman • church shootings • Matthew Murray • nghtmrchild26 • Association of Former Pentecostals • Rachel Works • Stephanie Works

Colorado Church Gunman Killed Himself

Shooter's 'love to hate' Christians comments surface online

Dec 12, 07 2:04 AM CST
(Newser) - Though Colorado church gunman Matthew Murray was shot by a security guard, the wound that killed him was self-inflicted, reports the Los Angeles Times. Murray shot himself after he was wounded by the volunteer guard who opened fire when Murray burst into the church with three guns and 1,000... More »

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Minneapolis • Colorado • shooting rampage • church shootings • Matthew Murray • Jeanne Assam

Colo. Church Gunman 'Hated Christians'

Was expelled from missionary school  where he killed 2

Dec 10, 07 8:15 PM CST
(Newser) - The gunman at two Colorado church shootings yesterday had been expelled from the missionary school where killed two people, the AP reports. He also sent the school hate mail in recent weeks and may have "hated Christians," police said. The school admitted that it had kicked out the... More »

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church • Christians • Colorado • Colorado Springs • megachurches • Ted Haggard • gunman • church shootings

Colo. Shooter Had Ties to Church

Lone gunman ID'd as ex-mission worker who sent threatening letters

Dec 10, 07 2:44 PM CST
(Newser) - A former mission worker was the shooter in both of yesterday’s Colorado church shootings, CNN reports. The killer, identified as Matthew Murray, worked with Youth With a Mission in Arvada, where the first shooting occurred. The Rocky Mountain News describes Murray as the 24-year-old son of a local neurosurgeon,... More »

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crime • Colorado • megachurches • Ted Haggard • New Life Church • gunman • church shootings • Matthew Murray • shooting

Link Sought in Church Shootings

Another victim dead; police to search suburban house

Dec 10, 07 3:15 AM CST
(Newser) - Investigators believe there may be a link between deadly shooting sprees yesterday at two Colorado religious sites—a megachurch in Colorado Springs and a Christian missionary center outside Denver. A second victim has died from wounds suffered at the New Light Church, where a guard killed the black-clad gunman who... More »

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Colorado • Colorado Springs • megachurches • gunman • church shootings • shooting

UPDATED

Gunman Dead in Church Attack

Suspect nabbed in Haggard church incident; no link yet

Dec 9, 07 7:14 PM CST
(Newser) - The gunman who opened fire at a Colorado megachurch today killed one and wounded four before being fatally shot by a security guard, CNN reports. Police Chief Richard Myers called the guard at New Life Church "a courageous security staff member who probably saved many lives today." Some... More »

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Colorado • Colorado Springs • megachurches • New Life Church • gunman • church shootings • shooting

4 Shot at Haggard's Colo. Church

Unclear if related to earlier shooting at missionary center 70 miles away

Dec 9, 07 3:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Gunfire struck Colorado Christians a second time today, hitting at least four people in the parking lot of Ted Haggard's New Life Church this afternoon, the AP reports. It was unclear if the incident, in Colorado Springs, was linked to two earlier shooting deaths at a missionary training center 70... More »

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Colorado • Colorado Springs • megachurches • Ted Haggard • New Life Church • gunman • church shootings • shooting

Shooter Opens Fire in Missouri Church, Killing 3

Gunman held 25 to 50 people hostage before surrendering to police

Aug 12, 07 5:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - An unidentified gunman killed 3 and wounded several in a church in southwest Missouri today. The AP reports that he briefly held 25 to 50 churchgoers hostage at the First Congregational Church in Neosho, Missouri before being arrested. Police say that an incident between the shooting suspect and a family... More »

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church • Missouri • Neosho • church shootings • shooting • guns

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