Man faces murder charges over US church shootings BreakingNews.ie_5333

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Man faces murder charges over US church shootings You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
Prosecutors today filed three murder charges against a Micronesian man accused of opening fire inside a Missouri church,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, killing three people and wounding five others during a worship service of a mostly Micronesian congregation.
Prosecutors also charged the man, Eiken Elam Saimon, 52, with assault, felonious restraint for holding the congregation hostage, and armed criminal action.
Another assault charge was pending, Newton County Prosecutor Scott Watson said.
Authorities earlier said the suspect had targeted elders of the congregation of mostly Pacific islanders.
He opened fire during a Sunday afternoon service.
The victims were not friends or relatives of the gunman,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, Watson said.
“I think that you’ll find that the victims were what some would term elders or leaders (of the Micronesian congregation),You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login,” Watson said. “As information continues to come forward, it appears that the shots that were fired were not random.”
Saimon, in his 40s, also is a suspect in the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl on Saturday, Watson said.
That girl is a relative of Saimon’s.
The gunman opened fire after ordering children out of the sanctuary of First Congregational Church,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, which the Micronesian congregation rents for its services.
Police said the shooting followed an altercation on Saturday night between the suspect and a family that belonged to the congregation.
It was not clear if the suspect was part of the congregation or if the family was in the sanctuary during the attack.
The gunman had two small-calibre handguns and one 9mm semi-automatic machine pistol with a large magazine, McCracken said. The shooting came during the 1pm service, which was attended by about 50 people, ranging in age from children to the elderly.
“This was a tragedy as far as those killed and injured but it could have been a lot worse,” McCracken said.
The gunman surrendered after about 10 minutes of negotiation. He had briefly held 25 to 50 people hostage before surrendering
Police have named one of the dead so far, Kernal Rehobson, 44, of Goodman, who was the pastor of the congregation.
The other two victims were male members of the congregation, who were “what we would call deacons,” said Dave McCracken, Neosho police chief.
Their names were not released because relatives were still being notified.
He said police were told five wounded people, all adults, would recover.