Man shoots wife, 2 others at church
A gunman drove across the country to confront his estranged wife, then killed her in a church vestibule as Sunday services let out, authorities said. Two other people were injured in the attack, which sent churchgoers scrambling for safety.
The gunman fled, and police were searching for him and warned people that he was believed to be armed.
About 200 people were attending services inside St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton when the gunman opened fire before noon.
Police Detective Capt. Robert Rowan identified the slain woman as 24-year-old Reshma James and the gunman as 27-year-old Joseph M. Pallipurath, of Sacramento, Calif. The other two victims, a 47-year-old woman and 23-year-old man, were in critical condition, Rowan said. He said all three were shot in the head.
Washington
IKEA to pay fine for faulty candles
Home furnishing company IKEA agreed to pay a $500,000 fine for being slow to report defective outdoor candles, the government said Sunday.
In May 2006, IKEA recalled 133,000 packages of outdoor candles in the United States. The company had received at least 32 reports of problems with the candles worldwide, including 12 reports of injuries.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said IKEA did not promptly report the problems, as the law requires.
The candles were available at IKEA stores around the country between February 2001 and July 2005.
In the settlement agreement with the agency, IKEA North America Services denied that it knowingly broke the law.
Los Angeles
Security guard kills sword-wielder
A security guard shot and killed a man wielding two samurai swords Sunday on the grounds of a Scientology building in Hollywood, police said.
The unidentified man approached three guards around noon in the parking lot of the Scientology Celebrity Centre, Deputy Chief Terry S. Hara said.
The man was “close enough to hurt them” when one of the guards shot him, Hara said.
Platteville, Colo.
Gleaners pick field clean
A farm couple got a huge surprise when they opened their fields to anyone who wanted to pick up free vegetables left over after the harvest: 40,000 people showed up.
Joe and Chris Miller’s fields were picked so clean Saturday that a second day of gleaning was canceled Sunday.
Chris Miller said she expected 5,000 to 10,000 people would show up Saturday to collect free potatoes, carrots and leeks. Instead, an estimated 11,000 vehicles backed up more than two miles. About 30 acres of the 600-acre farm 37 miles north of Denver became a parking lot.
An estimated some 600,000 pounds of produce was harvested Saturday.