Children were inside St. Mary Magdalen in Abbeville, Louisiana, waiting to take their first Holy Communion, the church said.

Churchgoers thwarted a teenager armed with a rifle from entering a Louisiana church full of children Saturday in a service that was being livestreamed, authorities said.

Police were called to St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville, 20 miles south of Lafayette, at 10:35 a.m. when the 16-year-old suspect tried to get in via the back door.

Around 60 children were inside the Catholic church at the time waiting to take their first Holy Communion, the church said.

The suspect was arrested and later charged with terrorizing the church and two counts of possession of a firearm by a juvenile. Witnesses told KADN of Lafayette that he was dressed all in black and armed with the rifle.

  • ⓝⓞ🅞🅝🅔@lemmy.ca
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    7 months ago

    If this is the case, then I’m so very glad.

    I’m absolutely lost at how things can get so bad that a person’s response is such senseless violence.

    It breaks my heart and anyone, especially a youth, can get this lost in the Darkness without someone interceding. Perhaps some have tried. Either way… I hope the youth receives the help they need. If justice needs to be found for something in their past, I hope the authorities can find it and help them. I hope the youth may experience freedom of mind, healing, and goodness.

    I’m so so grateful that no one was hurt.