Pastor Fred Winters Killed In Pulpit

The Reverend Dr. Fred Winters, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Maryville, IL, was shot and killed this morning during the 8:15 service. Apparently, an unidentified man walked up the center aisle and exchanged words with the pastor before opening fire with a .45 caliber gun. According to Illinois State Police director Larry Trent, Winters used his Bible to deflect three of the bullets. A fourth bullet hit Winters in the chest. The assailant's gun jammed, at which point several parishioners tackled him. The assailant had a knife, resulting in several injuries, including a serious neck wound on the assailant himself, who is currently hospitalized and in critical condition.

A former president of the Illinois Baptist State Association, Winters was also an adjunct professor at Midwestern Baptist Theology Seminary at the time of his death. He received a BA from Southwest Baptist University (1986), an MA in Systematic Theology and Church History from Wheaton (1986), an MDiv from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1991), and a PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Winters is survived by his wife Cindy and their two daughters, Alysia Grace and Cassidy Hope.

Let's pray for his family, their church, and the unidentified gunman.

HT: JT