The 19-year-old son of an Episcopal priest was arrested in Mississippi on Wednesday on charges of killing his father and two other family members this week in their Houston home.
Isaac Tiharihondi was arrested at a motel in Jackson, Mississippi, according to a spokeswoman with the FBI's Jackson Field office.
Tiharihondi is charged with two counts of capital murder. Israel Ahimbisibwe, 51, Dorcus Ahimbisibwe, 47 and five-year-old Israel Ahimbisibwe, Jr. were all found dead in their northwest Houston apartment on Monday by firefighters after concerned parishioners raised the alarm when they did not attend church on Sunday.
"We are all terribly saddened by the loss of our pastor, his dear wife and precious son. We continue to pray for Isaac. Only God knows," said a message posted on Wednesday on the Facebook page for the Church of the Redeemer, where Israel Ahimbisibwe was a priest.
Tiharihondi awaits extradition to Houston this week from the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond, Mississippi, officials said.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences would not release details from an autopsy completed on Tuesday. A spokeswoman said authorities were working to locate and notify next of kin.
The family came to the US from Uganda, where Ahimbisibwe was ordained in the Church of Uganda and held master's degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and Harvard Divinity School, specialising in Old Testament study. He earned another master's and doctorate from Rice University after completing graduate research at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
"This is a horrific and awful tragedy," said the Bishop of Texas, Rt Rev Andrew Doyle, in an earlier statement. "We are in touch with the police and Israel's family here in Houston. Please keep the Ahimbisibwe and Redeemer families in your prayers."
Additional reporting by Reuters.
