Pastor, 3 others stabbed at church service in Texas home
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Four people were stabbed Wednesday during a church service at a Texas home and a man is in custody, police said.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported that the incident occurred about 7 p.m. at a nondenominational service. Corpus Christi police were called to the home and found the pastor who had been holding the service stabbed in the chest.
CBS Corpus Christi affiliate KZTV reports the pastor was taken to the hospital with multiple stab wounds and was in critical condition.
Lt. Jay Clement told the newspaper that both the pastor and a band member who was also wounded were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. The band member was stabbed in the neck, according to the newspaper.
Clement said two more people received punctures - one to the hand and another in the arm. He said they were injured trying to get the suspect away from the pastor.
He said the suspect faces aggravated assault charges.
Clement told KZTV several parishioners were inside the home of a pastor singing when a male church member lunged toward the pastor and began stabbing people.
"One of the parishioners just out of nowhere attacked the pastor and another member in the band," Clement told station.
According to county records cited by KZTV, the house is owned by Kingdom Acts Ministries International.
Police say children were inside with about 10-12 people and a few more church members were arriving when the assault occurred.
The attacker is believed to be in his 30's and is described as a member of the church.
Police told KZTV they don't know what the suspect's motive was but said he could be having mental issues. They said the assailant was mumbling in the police car while they were waiting for detectives to arrive.
Those attending services at the home have been gathering there each day as part of a "40-day pledge," Clement said.
In November, a gunman fatally shot more than two dozen worshippers at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, before dying of an apparent self-inflected gunshot wound. Investigators have said that attack appeared to stem from a domestic dispute.
