Missouri gunman kills 3 in church, surrenders

NEOSHO, Mo. – A gunman opened fire in the sanctuary of a southwest Missouri church Sunday, killing a pastor and two worshippers and wounding several others, authorities said.

One of the victims was the Rev. Kernal Rehobson, 44, who led the local congregation of predominantly Micronesian worshippers holding the service at the First Congregational Church, police said.

The other two victims were men belonging to the congregation and were “what we would call deacons,” said Dave McCracken, Neosho police chief. Their names were not released.

The gunman ordered all the children out of the church before he started shooting and briefly held between 25 to 50 people hostage before surrendering, McCracken said.

At least five people were wounded, McCracken said. But he said others who were injured may have fled before police secured the church. Police have been told that the five who were injured will recover, he said.

Rehobson was shot multiple times and was dead at the scene, Newton County Coroner Mark Bridges said.

The suspect, a man in his 40s who was from the Pacific islands, was being held at the Newton County Jail, but McCracken would not release any more information about him. No charges had been filed Sunday, McCracken said.

McCracken said the gunman had two small-caliber handguns and one 9 mm semiautomatic machine pistol with a large magazine.

The gunman surrendered to authorities after about 10 minutes of negotiation.