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Gunman kills three in US church US church shooting murder charges
(about 12 hours later)
Three people were killed and at least five wounded after a gunman opened fire at a church in the US state of Missouri, police said. A man has been charged with murder in connection with a shooting in a church in the US state of Missouri which left three people dead and five injured.
A suspect surrendered to police and was arrested after about 10 minutes of negotiations, police said. He had held up to 50 people hostage in the church. Eiken Elam Saimon, 52, is also accused of assault and of holding the mostly Micronesian congregation hostage.
The victims included a pastor and two male members of the congregation. Those killed include two senior male members of the congregation and its leader, the Rev Kernal Rehobson.
The suspect, who has not been charged, was related to someone at the church, said the Newton County coroner. Mr Saimon entered a not guilty plea at a brief court appearance on Monday.
Mark Bridges offered no further details about the alleged gunman, who was armed with two small-calibre handguns and a 9mm semi-automatic machine pistol, according to police. Bail was set at $1m ($500,000) by a judge at Newton County Circuit Court.
Police chief Dave McCracken could not confirm whether the suspect was a member of the mostly Micronesian congregation, which was holding a service at First Congregational Church in the south-western town of Neosho on Sunday. Police have said that Mr Saimon, who is Micronesian, was not an active member of the congregation, which met in the First Congregational Church in the south-western town of Neosho.
But Mr McCracken said that an incident involving the suspect and a family at the church service sparked the shooting. Newton County Prosecutor Scott Watson said the suspect was not a friend or relation of any of those killed. The five people injured, all adults, are expected to recover.
One of the victims was the Reverend Kernal Rehobson, who led the congregation. Hostage claim
The names of the other two victims were being withheld until family members had been notified. The shooting took place during a lunchtime church service attended by about 50 people on Sunday.
The alleged gunman was armed with two small-calibre handguns and a 9mm semi-automatic machine pistol, according to police.
He surrendered to police after about 10 minutes of negotiation, having allegedly briefly held at least half the congregation hostage.
A witness told the Associated Press news agency that the gunmen had ordered children and some members of his own family to leave before he started shooting.
Police chief Dave McCracken is quoted by the AP as saying: "This was a tragedy as far as those killed and injured are concerned but it could have been a lot worse."
About 200 Micronesians are said to live in the Neosho area. Thousands of people moved to the US from the Pacific islands of Micronesia in the 1990s to find work.