Gunman Shoots Two Teens at Richmond, Ca., Church During Worship Services

If you can't be safe in church, where can you ever be safe? Police are seeking a hooded gunman with dreadlocks, and two accomplices who horrified the congregation of New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ in Richmond, Calif., Sunday, police said. The gunman, along with two companions in hooded sweatshirts, reportedly paced the aisles then pulled out a gun and shot two teenagers.

Richmond police Sgt. Bisa French told the Fresno Bee that the gunman fired about five shots, hitting a 14-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man in front of about 100 people. A 14 year old was hit in the shoulder and a 19 year old was struck in the leg. Both victims are expected to survive. There were no other injuries.

You would think that a church would be a safe place to be, but we have seen isolated cases in which gun violence has erupted in various houses of worship across the United States. The worshipers who remained after the investigators left, continued their service, undeterred by the acts of violence.

Richmond, which has about 103,000 residents, is located on the eastern Bay shoreline north of Oakland and Berkeley. As of the 2000 Census, the racial makeup of the city was 36.06% black, 21.36% white, 12.29% Asian, 26.53% Hispanic, with the other ethnicities very low. The city has seen seven homicides since the year started. The city was in the news recently with the horrific gang rape of a 16-year old girl outside a homecoming dance at Richmond High School last October. Richmond's crime statistics are far worst than the national statistics. The city has had a reputation for being extremely dangerous and has often been portrayed in negatively in the media. There is often gang violence, shoot-outs and drive-by shootings.