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2 Shot at Church Wedding in New Hampshire, Police Say 2 Shot at Wedding in New Hampshire Church, Police Say
(about 3 hours later)
A gunman opened fire during a wedding ceremony on Saturday morning at a church in Pelham, N.H., injuring two people before he was subdued by guests attending the celebration, the police said. A Saturday morning wedding at a church in a small New Hampshire town came to a bloody and abrupt stop when a gunman entered and opened fire, injuring at least two people before he was “gang-tackled” by attendees, the police said.
A suspect was in custody, Police Chief Joseph Roark of the Pelham Police Department said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. Wedding guests had the gunman pinned down when officers arrived at the New England Pentecostal Ministries church in Pelham, N.H., about 30 miles north of Boston, Chief Joseph Roark of the Pelham Police Department said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
The police received a call of an active shooter at 10:12 a.m. at the New England Pentecostal Ministries church, he said. Officers found a man and woman with gunshot wounds at the church. Other guests suffered minor injuries. The suspect, a man who the police said used a handgun, was in custody. He was not publicly identified nor was a motive revealed, but the police said the shooting did not appear to be random.
The identities of the gunman and victims were not publicly available. A motive for the shooting was not immediately known but the chief said the shooting did not appear random. The police received a call of an active shooter at the church at 10:12 a.m. and found a man and woman with gunshot wounds. Their identities and conditions were not made publicly available.
The Pelham police provided the church with active shooter training within the last year, Chief Roark said.
In a Facebook post, Neivia Choate wrote: “A coward walked into my family’s church today at NEP New England Pentecostal Church and shot my uncle Bishop Stanley Choate I call for anyone that knows and believes and In the GOD we serve to get on your knees and pray for my family.”
Pelham, which is more than 30 miles north of Boston and is near the Massachusetts border, has a population of just over 13,000.
The church and its bishop are well known in the African-American community of Lowell, Mass., said Darius Mitchell, who said his family was close with Bishop Choate. Mr. Mitchell said that Bishop Choate was being treated at Lowell General Hospital.
In a statement, the hospital said it had received one patient from the shooting and that person had been transferred to a hospital in Boston. It said it could not disclose any other details.
Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire wrote on Twitter that state officials were responding to the shooting scene, which remained “very active.”
The church was also scheduled to host a “celebration of life” service at noon for Luis Garcia, according to an obituary posted to Legacy.com and originally published in The Boston Globe on Monday. Mr. Garcia, a minister who, according to the obituary, was a member of New England Pentecostal Ministries, was shot and killed last week. But in a Facebook post, Neivia Choate, a relative of one of the victims, wrote: “A coward walked into my family’s church today at NEP New England Pentecostal Church and shot my uncle Bishop Stanley Choate. I call for anyone that knows and believes and In the GOD we serve to get on your knees and pray for my family.”
Darius Mitchell, who said his family was close with Bishop Choate, said the church and its bishop were well known in the African-American community of Lowell, Mass., which is about 10 miles away.
Mr. Mitchell said that Bishop Choate, who was a 1963 graduate of Lowell High School, was being treated at Lowell General Hospital.
In a statement, the hospital said it had received one patient from the shooting and that person had been transferred to a hospital in Boston. It said it could not disclose any other details.
The shooting was the latest in a series of acts of violence to occur at houses of worship.
In 2018, a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh left 11 dead and in 2017, a shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, left 26 dead.
In Pelham, the police provided the church with active shooter training within the last year, Chief Roark said. The community, which is near the Massachusetts border and has a population of just over 13,000, was a farming community up until World War II, “when explosive growth in population and industry took hold and has yet to slow down,” according to its website.
In a peculiar twist, Bishop Choate was the second leader from New England Pentecostal Ministries to be shot in less than two weeks. Luis Garcia, a minister and member of the church, was shot and killed last week.
On Saturday, the church was scheduled to host a “celebration of life” service for Mr. Garcia at noon.
The police charged a man in connection with Mr. Garcia’s murder, television station WMUR reported.
Mr. Garcia was trying to help the man, Brandon Castiglione, Bishop Choate told the station. The bishop said Mr. Castiglione, 24, who was charged with second-degree murder, “was having some problems mentally, and Luis was there to try to help him out.”
In an interview with television station WCVB, Geraldo Pagan said he had arrived at the church for the service for Mr. Garcia and was told by the police that “everything has been canceled.” He said he was shocked to see all the police activity as he pulled up to the church.In an interview with television station WCVB, Geraldo Pagan said he had arrived at the church for the service for Mr. Garcia and was told by the police that “everything has been canceled.” He said he was shocked to see all the police activity as he pulled up to the church.
“I’m deeply disturbed to hear about the shooting in Pelham this morning,” United States Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire wrote on Twitter. “Today was supposed to serve as a celebration of the life of Minister Luis Garcia. This senseless violence can’t continue — my prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack.”“I’m deeply disturbed to hear about the shooting in Pelham this morning,” United States Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire wrote on Twitter. “Today was supposed to serve as a celebration of the life of Minister Luis Garcia. This senseless violence can’t continue — my prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack.”
On Twitter, the New York Police Department Counterterrorism Bureau said it was “closely monitoring the shooting incident at the New England Pentecostal church in Pelham, NH.” A spokeswoman said the department routinely monitors shootings.
Ellen Barry contributed reporting.Ellen Barry contributed reporting.