Churches around the world have been shocked by the shooting in a US evangelical church in which seven Christian worshippers have been shot dead as well as the gunman himself. Terry Ratzmann, 44, opened fire at churchgoers in Brookfield, Wisconsin, apparently without motive before turning the gun on himself.
US police have been baffled as to why the attacks took place, and no suicide note was found during a search of the gunman’s property according to Daniel Tushaus, a police chief involved in the investigations.
Ratzmann, himself was a regular churchgoer who attended services at the Living Church of God, which is an evangelical church that meets at the Sheraton Hotel. The gunman was described as a quiet, devout man by his neighbours.
Upon Saturday’s shooting, in which 22 shots seemed to be arbitrarily fired into the congregation, four people were killed at the scene of the shooting, with three others later dying due to fatal injuries. Victims ranged from teenagers to those over 60, and at present no pattern among those targeted has been found.
Police Captain, Phil Horter said, "At this point, we're unable to determine if he had specific targets or he just shot at random."
The evangelical church that was targeted gathers on Saturdays for Sabbath Day services rather than the traditional Sunday services seen at most churches.
Tragically those that died at the scene were boys aged 15 and 17, as well as a 72 year-old man and a 55 year-old woman. In addition, three men aged 44-58 died in hospital as medics tried to save them.
At present a further two men, a 20 year-old woman and a 10 year-old girl are still in hospital in extremely serious conditions.
The victim church – The Living Church of God, has said that it operates in North, South America as well as Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. It also reports that it has many ordained ministers as part of its ministry, as well as more than 200 congregations.
