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There is extra security around churches and other Christian institutions in Iraq, in response to threats from a militant Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda.
The group calling itself The Islamic State Of Iraq describes all Christians as “legitimate targets.”
It says it was behind Sunday’s attack on a Baghdad church which left at least 60 dead.
Explosions across the capital on Tuesday killed another 64 and injured nearly three hundred.
An argument that began at an Oklahoma City church resulted in a shooting that has left at least one person dead and five others injured.
It happened Wednesday night outside the Word of God Church in northwest Oklahoma City. Police say there was a dispute between two groups and that as people were walking away, one person began shooting.
The bullets struck 31-year-old Darnell Marzett as well as five others — four young girls and a 32-year-old woman.Marzett later died at an Oklahoma City hospital. The wounds suffered by the other five weren’t thought to be life-threatening.
Seventeen-year-old James Watts has now been booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on complaints of murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio Sept 27, 2010— A church community haunted by the parking-lot shooting death of an 80-year-old member is mourning the killing of another elderly parishioner minutes after leaving church.
Someone fired up to a dozen shots at Thomas Repchic, 75, as he drove from church Saturday with his 74-year-old wife, who was wounded but expected to recover. The couple had just left St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church, where Jacqueline Repchic works in the office on Saturdays.
Detectives believe the couple may have been victims of mistaken identity, Youngstown Capt. Rod Foley said. Investigators do not believe the shooting was random and think it was gang-related, but no arrests have been made.
Aug 30, 2010 – A Spokane Valley pastor who was shot outside his home last week was remembered as a community leader who loved God as much as his garden during a service held Monday morning at his former church.
Pastor Creach was shot and killed by a Spokane Valley Police Officer on Thursday night after the officer responded to a report of a prowler in the area. An altercation occurred shortly after 11 o’clock at night and Creach was shot with a single bullet.
Police identified the officer involved as Deputy Brian Hirzel, a veteran law enforcement officer with more than a dozen years of experience in California, Idaho and Washington.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Spokane Police Department and Washington State Patrol.
Aug 30, 2010 – Police are seeking clues in the fatal shooting of a lay bishop at a Mormon church by a man who was killed in an ensuing confrontation with officers.
Clay Sannar, a 42-year-old father of six boys, was doing administrative paperwork on Sunday between services when a man came in and asked for a leader of the congregation, said church official Ralph Jordan. The man was directed to Sannar and fatally shot him, said Colleen Mestas, the police chief in Visalia, southeast of Fresno in California’s Central Valley.
Then, someone called police and identified himself as the gunman. When police arrived at the church, they confronted the man and exchanged gunfire, said Mestas.
The gunman was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at nearby hospital, Mestas said. No police officers were injured.
The man, whose identity has not been released, did not seem to know Sannar and is not a member of the church, and no one at the church recognized him, said Jordan. Police have not disclosed details about a motive.
A man was killed and a woman was wounded in a drive-by shooting outside a North Miami church that was hosting a viewing for a man who had been shot a week earlier.
According to Police, shots came from a gold Dodge Intrepid that drove past the Fraternity Baptist Church Friday night. Several people were outside the church, so police weren’t sure who the actual target was. No arrest have been made at this time.
Police arrested a suspect Thursday in a shooting at a North Hollywood synagogue last year that left two people wounded.
Christopher Littlejohn, 37, was initially arrested by SWAT officers in a separate assault case in Beverly Hills on July 23 in which he pointed a gun at a person in a residential neighborhood, Beverly Hills Police Sgt. Shan Davis said.
LAPD Lt. John Romero said Littlejohn, of Northridge, was later arrested and booked on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the Oct. 29 shooting in North Hollywood and is being held in lieu of $2-million bail.
Littlejohn is believed to have shot two congregants in the underground garage of Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Synagogue. The wounded men were Maor Ben-Nissan, 37, and Allen Lasry, 38, who were both struck in the leg.
A man was shot inside a church in Salina, Kansas on Saturday morning after a chase with the Kansas Highway Patrol. The shooting took place at the Emmanuel Christian Center in the 1300 block of E. Cloud.
Police say that the man was able to get inside the first set of doors, which were unlocked. The man then pulled out a weapons, forcing officers to shoot him. The church was empty at the time.
The man has been taken to a local hospital. Police have not released the name or age of the man.
(NECN: Knoxville, Tenn.) – Community members attended the candlelight service in Knoxville, Tennessee last night despite thunder, lightning and torrential downpours. More than 1,000 people from different faiths attended the emotional service. Knoxville police say 58-year-old Jim Adkisson entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church during Sunday morning’s service and opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun. Greg McKendry, 60 and Linda Krager, 61 were killed during the shootings. Members of the church were watching children perform a production of “Annie, Jr.” at the time of the shooting. Adkisson is being held on charges of first-degree murder. His bail has been set at $1 million. If at all possible, forgiving the man who took two lives and put seven others in the hospital during a quiet Sunday service is the next step for the community to heal.
Question: What has your church done to prevent or react to this type of situation? Do you have an Active Shooter Plan? Does your employees know what emergency action to take in the event of an active shooter? Do you conduct Active Shooter Drills? Can you lock your office or classrooms? Call WSSC Ministry today to have a site specific Active Shooter Plan designed. Be “PROACTIVE, NOT REACTIVE”.