A 16-year-old has been charged with terrorizing and two charges of juvenile handgun possession after entering a church service in Abbeville, Louisiana, where 60 children were getting their first holy communion.
Police reported that “the person was confronted by parishioners and escorted outside” before being taken into prison.
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Police have not published any information about the youngster, described as a Caucasian man, his suspected purpose, the gun, or how he obtained it, but local sources indicated he was clothed in black and armed with a rifle.
According to the Abbeville police department, the adolescent was challenged by parishioners after entering St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church through the rear entrance on Saturday, roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Lafayette.
“There were several people here in the community who stood their ground in the face of the terrifying situation and wanted to make sure the community was safe, didn’t think of themselves in the least, and put themselves in harm’s way,” said youth ministry leader John Listi.
Listi told the publication that the Christian community was upset and frightened, but that they would “emerge stronger than ever.”
A recording from local TV station KADN shows events unfolding when Listl, who is ready to give communion, gets alerted to the intruder and begs the congregation to sit and pray. When the sounds of children wailing are heard, a police officer enters the room and draws his pistol.
“Listen, guys, just get a hold of your child,” a voice over the speakers says as altar boys sprint across the chancel behind the altar. Slow down. We did catch a young man. He is currently detained. The police are currently holding him in custody. Calm yourself, then simply get near your child and proceed carefully.”
St. Mary Magdalen Church has already announced that uniformed officers will be stationed at the next masses.
According to police, the adolescent was questioned with his parents present, brought to Abbeville Hospital’s behavioral unit, and later charged.
However, the episode sparked unavoidable anxieties about a resurgence of mass killings that have disrupted areas of American public life, including worship.
A self-described white supremacist massacred nine black parishioners at a church Bible study in South Carolina in 2015, and a gunman used a rifle to kill 25 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, two years later. In 2018, a man shot and killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue.
Following the incident on Saturday, Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White expressed gratitude to the “brave, diligent individuals who kept our community safe under threat and the officers who remained focused under unimaginably stressful circumstances.”
