A gunman opened fire during a wedding at a Pentecostal church on Saturday, Oct. 12. The bride, groom and clergyman were wounded during the shooting, but thankfully, no one was killed.
Police have identified the shooter as Dale Holloway, stepson of the church’s pastor, Luis Garcia, who was murdered earlier this month. Prosecutors are investigating this connection as they explore the suspect’s motive.
Holloway faces multiple charges, one of which is the attempted murder of 75-year-old Bishop Stanley Choate, who was performing the wedding ceremony, according to the Boston Herald.
Police report that Holloway entered New England Pentecostal Ministries Church in Pelham, New Hampshire, around 10 a.m. Saturday and started firing his handgun. Choate, who was hit in the chest, is still in the hospital and considered to be in serious condition.
The bride and groom, Mark Castiglione and Claire McMullen, were both injured by bullets but were released from the hospital Sunday. Castiglione is the father of Brandon Castiglione, the man who was charged with killing Holloway’s father, according to Senior Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati.
A service to celebrate Garcia’s life was scheduled to start at the church just after the wedding was over.
In response to the shooting, the church canceled services for the week of Oct. 12-20 and urged the congregation to pray for the family:
“Everyone is still in shock because we never imagined it would happen in church, let alone in New Hampshire,” said Magalie Felix, a member of the church.
