Worshippers Subdue Man with Gun at Sunday Mass -- Palmdale, CA Pastor, Parishoners Avoid Mass Murder
I would like to know why this was not covered on any of the national cable news (at least not that I have seen or heard, or can find by searching!).
The police are charging him with a hate crime... and that is, as far as I can remember, the FIRST time this has been done for something done in a Catholic Church to Catholics (I could be wrong, and will gladly entertain examples of others if you have them). I could also find the story on only ONE other news source.
That story is here:
Gunman terrorizes Catholic church before Mass - By Karen Maeshiro, Staff Writer
PALMDALE - A 65-year-old man armed with a gun terrorized a Catholic church before Sunday evening services, shouting profanities, assaulting a priest who tried to calm him and making threats as choir members held him down. View Full Story
Video (the ONLY news coverage on TV that I could find, and it took a LOT of searching to do so!
Palmdale Pastor, Parishoners Avoid Mass Murder
This email was sent to me tonight by a close friend who attends this Church with the first story I saw on it:
This was close! Thank God no-one was hurt.
s
Worshippers subdue man with gun at Sunday Mass
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Monday, November 5, 2007. By JAMES RUFUS KOREN and CHARLES F. BOSTWICK
Valley Press Staff
PALMDALE - A 65-year-old Acton man armed with a pistol and muttering anti-Catholic statements invaded St. Mary's Catholic Church, knocking down the church pastor before he was subdued by parishioners who had been waiting for Sunday Mass to start, sheriff's officials said.
Parishioners had the man pinned to the ground but he was still fighting when deputies arrived and took him into custody, finding a loaded .45 pistol stuck in his trouser waistband, sheriff's officials said.
"He punched the pastor, knocked him down and kicked him," sheriff's Lt. Cory Kennedy said. "I think my deputies arriving and these people stopped a bad situation from happening. I think he had some real bad intentions."
Msgr. Stephen Downes, St. Mary's pastor, did not require medical treatment, but parishioners said he looked shaken.
After the man was taken away by sheriff's deputies, Downes presided at 5:30 p.m. Mass as usual, though the service started about 20 minutes late, parishioners said.
The intruder was identified as Claude Sricchia, who apparently was not a parishioner and was not known by any of the witnesses, Kennedy said. The man would not tell deputies his name, so they had to identify him through his fingerprints, Kennedy said. He was booked into the Palmdale Sheriff's Station jail on suspicion of committing a hate crime and of making criminal threats, Kennedy said.
The man had walked into the church, at 1600 East Ave. R-4, just after 5 p.m. Sunday while about 400 people were inside waiting for Mass, deputies said.
"He started muttering anti-Catholic statements and making threats to the congregation," Deputy Daryl Bonsall said.
As the pastor walked toward him, the man attacked him, Bonsall said. Some parishioners tackled the man while other parishioners ran out the church doors, deputies said. Somebody called 911. Deputies arrived within minutes, handcuffed the man and found the pistol, Bonsall said.
The man appeared intoxicated and agitated, said the Rev. Chris Bazyouros, who was not present when the man entered the church but spoke to witnesses.
Sricchia had been drinking but it wasn't known whether he was intoxicated, Kennedy said.
© 2007 Antelope Valley Press, Palmdale, California (661) 273-2700
Labels: Catholic, Criminal Charges
posted by WI Catholic @ 11/06/2007 03:36:00 AM
5 Comments:
Ten years ago, I knew Claude, the man who entered the church. He was a re-enactor, a gun collector and a good friend of my husbands. They were re-enactors together. I knew him for twenty years. He had a few small problems, nothing major, but apparently they got worse. He was around my children while they were growing up, we ate dinner together and visited at his house. I would never have guessed he would do something like that. Several of us who knew him are totally shocked. His mother died a few years back and two of his close friends died in the last five years. I know he is probably depressed, may not have any friends or anyone to talk to. Those are not excuses, but facts.
We have not seen or talked to him in over ten years. BTW, he is/was a Catholic and went to church all the time. He was born in Germany during WWII, but raised here in the states. His mother was as sweet as she could be. He has a sister who didn't used to live in CA, but I don't know where she is now.
I hope Claude gets the help he needs. I'm very glad no one was hurt. He knows guns and how to shoot, and I agree it could have been a terrible situation. We can't believe he did it. BTW, all the guns at his home were confiscated. I'm certain if he ever gets out of jail or a mental hospital, he'll never be allowed around them again. Thank God for the people who stopped him and that the situation ended without major injury to anyone.
A lot of things can happen to a person in ten years, and he is in need of help.
And yes, I am very grateful that no one was hurt! Including him. Some consider it a miracle, and it possibly is.
My question is why was this not covered? Had this been someone entering a Mosque (or even a Synagogue), it would have been, IMHO, even if it was a very short article/news piece.
People were in jeopardy. HE was in jeopardy. Police were called. To me, that makes this newsworthy.
God bless!
We can only imagine how the national news media would have gone ballistic if this had occured in a Jewish Synagogue! Should tell you something about who owns and runs the media in our Israeli occupied territory aka the U.S. of A.
I think, personally, that the coverage would have been much more ballistic or whatever had this been a Mosque, to be honest.
I had to struggle with your post, also, because there is an undercurrent that is here that I am not sure I want on my blog.
God bless!
I was a classmate of Claude's sister and met him a few times. Seemed quiet. His parents were very kind people. I lost contact with his sister though.
Post a Comment
<< Home