RICHMOND, Calif. -- Police were seeking a hooded gunman who horrified the congregation of a San Francisco Bay area church when he paced the aisles then pulled out a gun and shot two teenagers.
No arrests had been made or suspects named in the Sunday shooting at New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ in Richmond, police said.
The gunman flanked by two companions in hooded sweatshirts walked into the church, scanned the pews and fired about five shots, hitting a 14-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man in front of about 100 people, Richmond police Sgt. Bisa French said.
Charles Miller, a 64-year-old deacon at the church, said members of the congregation were about to tell the men to take off their hoods when the shooting began.
"I was listening to the choir and all of a sudden there was a 'pop pop pop pop pop,"' Miller told the San Francisco Chronicle. "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 14-year-old was hit in the shoulder and the 19-year-old was struck in the leg, French said. Both victims, whose names haven't been released, were hospitalized and were expected to survive. There were no other injuries.
"It's terrible when you come to the house of the Lord and start doing this," Miller said. "It's just something you don't do."
Investigators believe the men were targeting someone in the church but don't know if the two who were hit were the intended targets, French said.
French said investigators were interviewing witnesses to see if anyone recognized the men.
A handful of congregants returned to the church after police processed the crime scene and finished the service.
"We went on and had church anyway," Miller told the Chronicle. "We were giving thanks that nobody was killed. We wanted to go and serve the Lord anyway."
The small, off-white two-story church is surrounded by a red-and white wrought-iron fence in a residential section of Richmond, a city of 103,000 on the eastern Bay shoreline north of Oakland and Berkeley.
I think in USA churches need 2 have Radom machine 2 block the guns, bombs, or whatever it is
lloyd26ful 1 week ago
i hope those gunmen DIE
101pastor 3 months ago
Epic fail, both victims expected to be ok. Punks.
patrck82 3 months ago
What is church coming to nowadays?
5Kpro 4 months ago
@paraisosinnegros ugly trololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol
CosmicFist 6 months ago
Damn the world Is going To END
jb5studios 6 months ago 2
Whoa they should make a rap video on this, starrin 50 cent ...
soopafob 1 year ago
What Would Jesus Do? He would hit the floor!
mrivanoliver 2 years ago
well that's good
YamiYugi1121 2 years ago