Sunday, March 13, after a gunman shot dead 7 believers during their church service at the Sheraton Hotel before killing himself. Several other members of the Living Church of God congregation were injured.
"This is a terrible tragedy; we are cooperating with the authorities to find out what happened," the church said in a statement monitored by BosNewsLife News Center. "Information is still coming in. We have deep concern and are fervently praying for the injured and for the families of the deceased," the church said.
American media reported that the shooting happened at about 1300 (1900 UTC) Saturday, March 12, at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a western suburb of the city of Milwaukee, where the service was regularly staged. News reports quoted police officials as saying that "four died at the scene and three others died later of their injuries." They were said to range in age from teenagers to over-60s.
MOTIVE UNCLEAR
Investigators said the motive of the shooting was not yet clear. The gunman was described as 44-year-old Terry Ratzmann, a buttoned-down churchgoer known for sharing homegrown vegetables with his neighbors. He walked into the room and police claimed he shot 22 bullets from a 9 mm handgun within a minute, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
The computer technician lived with his mother and sister in a modest home about two miles (apr. 3,2 kilometers) from the suburban Milwaukee hotel where he opened fire during a service of the Living Church of God.
Two boys aged 15 and 17, a 72-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman reportedly died at the hotel. Three men ranging in age from 44 to 58 died later at a hospital, AP said. Four others – two men, a 20 year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl – remained "in a serious condition in hospital", according to news reports.
ONE SUSPECT
Police stressed they were not seeking anyone else in connection with the shootings. "There is nobody else being sought at this time as a suspect," Daniel Tushaus of the Brookfield Police Department told AP.
It was not known what, if any, new security measures would be implemented by the Living Church of God, which says it operates in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia with ordained ministers of over 200 congregations. The group is an evangelical church that observes the Sabbath on Saturday, not Sunday, news reports said.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based denomination grew out of a schism in the Worldwide Church of God, formed in 1933, and focuses on preaching the Gospel, Apostolic Christianity, and "end-time” prophecies. This year, the group’s leader, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith, reportedly wrote that events prophesied in the Bible are "beginning to occur with increasing frequency.” The church has an estimated 6,300 members in 40 countries
HOTEL SURROUNDED
Initially police would not allow church members or anyone else to enter or leave and many guests apparently locked themselves at their rooms of the hotel, where officials said two church groups were holding meetings at the time of the shooting.
Reporters saw how shocked survivors eventually came out of the Sheraton Hotel after police surrounded the building. The incident during the church service was expected to renew a debate on the large number of weapons in the United States where carrying a gun is a fundamental right of Americans.
"We are in total shock and disbelief," AP quoted New Berlin Mayor Telesfore Wysocki as saying. He said police had told him that the gunman lived in his community just south of Brookfield. His mother and sister were being interviewed by officers as police collected evidence at their house, Wysocki reportedly said.
Investigators searched a two-story house in New Berlin, but authorities declined to comment on whether the home was connected to the shootings. At the hotel, a small memorial reportedly began to take shape with someone placing a red-and-white cross in a snow bank in front of the building. Another person was seen leaving two stuffed animals and a note.
(With Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, BosNewsLife and reports from Brookfield, Wisconsin).
