3 Men Shoot 2 People During Church Service

Link To SF GATE Original Article

(02-14) 20:05 PST RICHMOND -- Three young men with black sweatshirt hoods pulled over their heads walked into a packed church service in Richmond on Sunday, where one of them opened fire and wounded two teenagers sitting in the pews, police said.

The three suspects - who may have been juveniles - fled after the brash 12:30 p.m. attack at New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ, as the singing of the choir was replaced by frightened screams, said Richmond police Sgt. Bisa French.

The two victims, a 14-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man, were hospitalized and were expected to survive. However, French said, they were not willing to help investigators try to track down their assailants.

"The key people aren't being cooperative," she said.

A church deacon who was present during the shooting, Charles Miller, said one of the victims was struck in the leg and the other in the shoulder. It was not clear, both he and French said, whether they were intended targets.

Miller said some of the more than 120 church members who witnessed the shooting told him the suspects had paced up and down an aisle - apparently looking for one or more targets - before shooting the victims near the back of the church.

Church members "were going to ask them to remove their hoods" before the shooting, he said.

"I was listening to the choir and all of a sudden there was a 'pop pop pop pop pop,' " Miller said. "Everyone hit the floor. I didn't know the shooting was inside the church at first, until I heard all of the hollering and screaming."

The shooting, at 2100 Roosevelt Ave., comes amid a violent beginning to the year in Richmond, which has already recorded seven homicides. The city is still recovering from a violent gang rape outside a high school homecoming dance last year that made national headlines.

"Obviously it was a very brazen attack - in broad daylight during a church service," French said. "It's very unusual. You'd think a church is a safe place that people can go no matter what circumstances they have in their life or where they are in their life. After today, obviously not."

French said investigators were talking to witnesses and believe some of them can identify the suspects. But French said the congregants - apparently scared to get involved - were unwilling to look at photo lineups.

"I don't understand," French said. "Where do you draw the line?"

Highlights From Radicalis 2010

Radicalis is really twelve conferences in one that makes it possible to bring your entire church team for individual learning experiences.
Radicalis is a unique hands-on, comprehensive experience that will enhance each member of your team’s role in your church and build and inspire them to serve God in your community and the world. Rick Warren, the Saddleback Team and leading national pastors will challenge, develop, and expand your vision to be moving force for God in today’s world.
They’ll help you understand the paradigm, learn the process and build relationships for expanding your ministry. They’ll enlarge your understanding of what “church” and “ministry” mean to enable you to affect positive, purposeful change for God. Imagine what would happen in your community, in your church and in our world if your church team collectively shared a Radical experience guided by the Spirit of God in which we saw His calling and His will for your ministry.
RADICALIS WEBSITE
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Here are some of the highlights from this year’s Radicalis 2010 via Twitter posts! #rad10

lasting ministry RT @dbeckner Being a Christian w/o a church is like being a soldier w/o a platoon. Believing w/o belonging is like being an orphan. #rad10
AlexMurashko RT @radicalsonly: Preventative Steps to Affair-proofing your marriage: #3 Maintain Your Mind - Don't Resist...ReFocus! @RickWarren #rad10
workwithyouth RT @radicalsonly: If you know the power of the sin, you will do whatever it takes to remove it from your life! #rad10
JonPfeiffer "A TRAP: something that catches you off your guard. Satan doesn't warn you when he is about to ruin your life."@RickWarren #rad10 #fb
powdertraitor RT @ReporterHaley: If you're a Pastor and are not following the people you're ministering to, then youre not a pastor but a self-proclaimed celebrity. #rad10
AlexMurashko That's just for the last 50 tweets! RT@OutreachNuMedia Tweets about #rad10 have reached 57,799 people - http://bit.ly/9yFJP4
Juventya If you're not growing TOGETHER as a couple, you're growing APART. @RickWarren #rad10
brandonacox RT @Komanapalli: The truth will set you free, but first it may make you miserable. #rad10
ANGELLARA RT @nickcarnes: Satan uses Internet & TV to lower standard of sin by (4 Ways) #3 Fail to Show Consequences #4 Get You to Laugh at It... #rad10 @RickWarren
ANGELLARA RT @nickcarnes: "Date your mate" "If more marriages courted, there would be less marriages in court" @RickWarren#rad10
jonathon_welch RT @ReporterHaley: If schools taught 'drug ed' the way they teach 'sex ed' it'd b handing out free needles & telling them 2 shoot-up. #rad10
radicalsonly You need to become your own mental police. No one else can control the thoughts going on inside your head.@rickwarren #rad10
danbrubacher "Every time you give, it breaks the grip of materialism in your life." (@RickWarren) #Radicalis #rad10
JulieP820 RT @ReporterHaley: The word "retirement" is not in the Bible. You're going to serve God for the rest of your life!@RickWarren #rad10
ReporterHaley The prupose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence. @RickWarren #rad10
ReporterHaley Take some time to ask God, what do you want me to do with what you've put in my hand? #rad10
nickcarnes God instructs Moses to lay down his Identity, income & influence & it came alive, but if Moses picked back up, it died@RickWarren #rad10
radicalsonly RT @ReporterHaley: Your enemy is not your neighbor, brother, or sister, it's Satan. @KerryShook #rad10
RT @srivera: Instead of fantasizing the Affair, Fantasize the Consequences #rad10
joecook given the right circumstances, ANYone can fail. Don't be self-deceived. #rad10 @kaywarren
ReporterHaley If you don't talk out your feelings with your spouse, you are going to take them out the door with someone else. #rad10
andydisher RT @ReporterHaley: Whenever you fire arrows back at someone else who hurts you, you're firing arrows at Jesus@KerryShook #rad10
thomasriffey RT @edstetzer: The Church's imperfections does not discount or discourage how God can use it. #rad10
MarketerMikeE If Jesus can forgive you, why can't you forgive yourself? @PastorMark #rad10 @karlameachem
mwhyde RT @nickcarnes: 2 Thoughts from @edstetzer "You CANNOT go wrong following Christ's Mission" & "We CANNOT allow money to determine church planting" #rad10
bigmikelewis RT @ReporterHaley: #1 mistake in missions: throwing money to fix a spiritual problem. #rad10
hayleybarnard RT @leigh_barnard: Radical Mission is slaying the giants of spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease and illiteracy. #rad10
joecook Don't see church plants as "competition" see them as "compliments" to your ministry. #rad10
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I hope you enjoyed some of the life changing quotes from Radicalis 2010!

JMC LIVE will be interviewing Alex Murashko Jr, the Co-leader for the  Social Media Ministry Team at Saddleback Church.
This Tuesday at 8PM EST come hear Alex share about this outstanding ministry experience!

JMC LIVE WEBSITE