Sunday, September 18, 2011
Associated Press
LAKELAND, Fla.
A gunman who already had killed one person burst through the doors of a central Florida church today, shooting and wounding the pastor and associate pastor before parishioners tackled him, authorities said.
The bystanders held down the accused gunman, 57-year-old Jeremiah Fogel, until deputies arrived. No other church members were hurt.
The conditions of the pastor, William Boss, and associate pastor Carl Stewart were not immediately known. A morning church service had wrapped up, and church members were preparing for the next service when the shooter came inside, the Polk County Sheriff’s office said.
The two were shot at the Greater Faith Christian Church in Lakeland, about 30 miles east of Tampa. The person who was killed at the home was not yet identified.
The church, a red-brick building across the street from a mobile home park that also serves as a school, was blocked by yellow police tape today.