The pastor of a church in America's Midwest was shot and killed as he delivered a sermon about happiness yesterday.
Horrified church-goers at first thought that they were witnessing a church skit when a gunman strode up to the Rev Fred Winters and shot him at point-blank range. Rev Winters, 45, managed to deflect the first of the gunman's four rounds with his Bible, sending a spray of paper showering the church like confetti, witnesses said.
But his killer fired another three times, hitting Rev Winters in the chest. He only stopped firing when his gun jammed, where-on he pulled out a knife, slashing himself and two other people, according to Illinois State Police Director Larry Trent.
Mr Winters was partway through his sermon on finding happiness in the workplace at the First Baptist Church in Marysville when the gunman approached, shortly after 8am. He spoke briefly to the pastor and then pulled out a .45 calibre semi-automatic pistol and started firing. The pastor tried to flee but collapsed as he stumbled down the church's aisle.
"We thought it was part of a drama skit ... when he shot, what you saw was confetti," said church-goer Linda Cunningham, whose husband is a minister of adult education at the church. "We just sat there waiting for what comes next, not realising that he had wounded the pastor."
As the gunman pulled out a four-inch knife two members of the 150-strong congregation tackled him and held him on the floor until police arrived. During the scuffle, all three were stabbed, police said.
It is not yet known if Mr Winters, a married father of two who has led the church for 22 years, knew his assailant, whose name has been withheld pending charges.
"We don't know the relationship [between the gunman and pastor], why he's here or what the circumstances came about that caused him in the first place to be here," said Illinois State Police Master Trooper Ralph Timmins.
Mr Trent said that investigators found no immediate evidence of a criminal background for the suspect, a 27-year-old from the neighbouring town of Troy. He said that police were investigating whether a red Jeep parked outside the church belonged to the man.
The Rev Mark Jones, another pastor at First Baptist, said that he briefly saw the gunman but not the shooting, though he heard a sound like miniature firecrackers.
"We have no idea what this guy's motives were," Mr Jones said outside the church.
After the shooting, church members spoke of their horror at the murder of the popular pastor.
"I'm in shock," a tearful Lindsay Osborne, 18, told the St Louis Post Dispatch, standing in bare feet outside the hospital where her pastor had died.
"We were going to stand in the parking lot and pray for him, but they came out and told us they lost him in there," said her mother Carol Covinsky, 52.
At an evening prayer service attended by hundreds at nearby Metro Community Church in Edwardsville later, the crowd cried, cradled Bibles and stretched their hands skywards as they prayed for Mr Winters.
"Today, we saw the visible results of evil and its influence," Rev Jones told them.
The gunman and 39-year-old Terry Bullard underwent surgery at St Louis University Hospital and were in serious condition on Sunday evening, spokeswoman Laura Keller said. The other victim, Keith Melton, was treated and released from Gateway Regional Medical Center.
"I would call it heroic," said Mr Trent of their decision to tackle the gunman. "While many understandably were stuck to their seats, they took to action."
During the time Mr Winters had been pastor of First Baptist Church, the average attendance grew from 32 to 1,200 people, according to the church's website.
