A pastor was killed and a person injured Sunday at a Methodist church in Winona, a Texas town, the sheriff said, adding that a suspect had been arrested.
Read also: Elon Musk leaves California to settle in Texas
The drama unfolded just before the service, when the pastor, who had just arrived with his wife and two other people, discovered an intruder in his church, Sheriff Larry Smith explained to the cameras of the local channel. KLTV.
“
When he opened the bathroom door, he found himself face to face with a man who was hiding in his church,
” he said.
This intruder, wanted after a shooting that occurred in the night, then seized the weapon of the pastor and shot him dead.
He then injured another person before fleeing with his victim's car.
He was arrested after a chase.
Wounded in the hand, he was hospitalized, specified the sheriff who excluded, at this stage, any ideological motivation for the crime.
"
Our hearts go out to the victims and families of those killed or injured in this terrible tragedy,
" Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement, thanking the police "
who arrested the suspect
."
In November 2017 in Texas, an assailant shot and killed 26 worshipers in Sunday worship at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs.
To read also: Slaughter in Texas: the church of Sutherland Springs transformed into a memorial