During a home church service in Corpus Christi, Texas, a man stabbed four people, including the church pastor.
Police arrived to find the pastor stabbed multiple times in the stomach and one of the band members stabbed in the neck. Both were taken to the hospital for life-threatening injuries, with the pastor reportedly in critical condition. Two other churchgoers were stabbed in the hand and in the arm while trying to intervene, but their wounds were apparently not life-threatening.
Witnesses say the suspect was a member of the church and were unclear about a potential motive. Lieutenant Jay Clement told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that the suspect faced four counts of aggravated assault. KZTV reported the man was “mumbling in the police car,” raising the possibility of a “mental issue.”
“One of the parishioners just out of nowhere attacked the pastor and another member in the band,” Clement told KZTV.
At least 10 people were attending the nondenominational service at the time of the stabbings, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. A few more church members were just arriving outside. The church members had been meeting every day at the house church for a “40-day pledge.”
