Man charged in church stabbings

An Albuquerque Police officer on the scene at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a man attacked the choir during Sunday Mass. Picture: AP Source: AP

AN ALBUQUERQUE man has been formally charged with stabbing several members of the choir at Sunday Mass.

Authorities say 24-year-old Lawrence Capener was booked late on Sunday on three counts of aggravated battery. The Albuquerque resident was ordered held on $US75,000 ($73,000) bail.

Police say worshippers screamed as Mr Capener stabbed several people just as Mass was ending at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church. Authorities say he continued the onslaught until he was tackled and held by church members until officers arrived.

It was not immediately known what sparked the bizarre attack at the 11am Sunday Mass on the city's west side.

Four parishioners were injured and were listed in stable condition at a nearby hospital.

Court records do not list an attorney for Mr Capener.

Just as the St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church choir began its final hymn, Mr Capener vaulted over pews and lashed out at the singers, sending four churchgoers to the hospital with stab wounds, authorities said.

Worshippers screamed as the shocking and chaotic scene unfolded on Sunday with the attacker continuing the onslaught until he was tackled and held by church members for officers, who raced to the scene, police said.

Four parishioners were injured, including church choir director Adam Alvarez and flutist Gerald Madrid, police spokesman Robert Gibbs said. All four were being treated at hospitals and listed in stable condition.

Investigators don't yet know whether Capener had ties to the victims or whether he regularly attended the church, Mr Gibbs said earlier.

An off-duty firefighter and others at the church held Mr Capener down until police arrived.

Mr Madrid told KOB-TV that he tried to stop Mr Capener by placing him in a bear hug but was stabbed in the neck and back.

"I bear-hugged him. We were chest on chest. I was wrapping about to take him down to ground, but I didn't have his arms. I had just my arms around his chest, so his arms were free. So that's when he started stabbing me," he said.

Mr Madrid said he thought the suspect was punching him. It wasn't until other parishioners rushed the man, that Mr Madrid realised he had been stabbed five times.

The choir's pianist, Brenda Baca King, told KRQE-TV that the attacker was looking at the lead soloist. "I just remember seeing him hurdle over the pews, hurdle over people and run (toward) us and I thought, 'Oh my God, this is not good,'" Ms Baca King said.

Father John C. Daniel, who was celebrating the Mass, told The Albuquerque Journal that the stabbing was "random.

He said he had seen Mr Capener in the church before but did not recognise him as a regular parishioner.

Father Daniel said he didn't see the attack because he had turned his back away from the congregation in order to return the sacrament in the tabernacle.

Archbishop of Santa Fe Michael Sheehan released a statement Sunday afternoon saying he was saddened by the attack.

"This is the first time in my 30 years serving as archbishop in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and as Bishop of Lubbock, that anything like this has occurred," Archbishop Sheehan said.

"I pray for all who have been harmed, their families, the parishioners and that nothing like this will ever happen again."

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Man charged in church stabbings

Dengan url

http://pergimengembala.blogspot.com/2013/04/man-charged-in-church-stabbings.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Man charged in church stabbings

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Man charged in church stabbings

sebagai sumbernya