NORWOOD – A man is in custody after witnesses say he opened fire during the morning worship service at First Baptist Church here. One man injured his shoulder in the process of tackling the alleged gunman, though witnesses confirmed to The Pathway there were no other injuries.
Pastor Stephen Fugitt was about halfway through his morning sermon July 21 when a man entered the church and fired between two and three shots.
Fugitt told The Pathway the church has had previous contact with the suspect.
“It wasn’t totally random in that way,” he said.
He pulled his gun up and before he could fire, one of the guys grabbed his arm (just before he pulled the trigger) and it (the bullet) went up into the ceiling.
Fugitt said the man has been to First Baptist two or three times over the past three or four years, but in early June had made some threats to return to the church with a gun. Fugitt said they called an ambulance at the time, which took him from the church to a psychiatric hospital. That was the last contact the church had with the man until he interrupted the morning worship service carrying a revolver.
He fired at least once into the floor between himself and Fugitt as he was walking toward the platform.
“He pulled his gun up and before he could fire, one of the guys grabbed his arm (just before he pulled the trigger) and it (the bullet) went up into the ceiling,” the pastor said.
Several more men piled onto the suspect and wrestled the gun away from him until the Wright County Sheriff’s Department could arrive.
“He’s a pretty big guy,” Fugitt said. “They weren’t going to let him up.”
Deputies later discovered a shotgun in the back seat of his car.
Fugitt said he praised God that no one was seriously injured, and thanked the men who acted quickly to subdue the suspect.
“They saved lives I’m sure,” he said.
Fugitt said everyone remained relatively calm after the shooting, and he led the congregation in a prayer before they left the church. He also asked other churches to remain alert and have a plan to deal with emergencies such as this.
“We actually have a plan, but it happened so fast, not much else could have been done except what happened.”
Norwood is a town of 600 people about 30 miles east of Springfield, and First Baptist averages 50-60 on Sunday mornings.
The alleged gunman’s name has not been released, but he is in custody and charges are pending.