Church shooting

MARYVILLE -- Police say they do not know why a man walked into a service at the First Baptist Church in Maryville this morning and fatally shot the pastor.

The Rev. Fred Winters, said to be in his 40s, died at nearby Anderson Hospital of a gunshot wound to the chest, officials said.

The attacker, whose identity has not been released, was in serious condition at St. Louis University Hospital, where he was being taken into surgery for treatment of self-inflicted stab wounds.

(Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)

Maryville is part of my old stomping grounds. I lived a couple of miles down the road in neighboring Glen Carbon for a time, and drove past this church often.

I wish I had an eloquent post on the need for better gun control handy, but all I feel right now is sorrow for the minister's family, friends, and congregation, puzzlement at what would drive somebody to commit such an act, and outrage that we allow so many idiots with guns to run around in this country.

UPDATE: Is lyme disease a sufficient alibi for murder?