Irate Over Girls in Mass, Man Slays Priest, 2 Others

A man upset because girls were taking part in a special children’s Mass shot and killed three people in the church today, including a priest who was gunned down as he knelt at the altar after the Mass, police and church officials said.

A man who fled the church with a shotgun was taken into custody a short time after the shootings. He identified himself only as “Elijah,” and said he was 29 years old, police said.

The victims were Father John Rossiter, 64, janitor William Hammes and Ferdinand Roth, a parishioner of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church.

Bishop John Paul of the La Crosse Diocese said he was told that Rossiter was shot in the back of the head as he knelt at the altar.

Paul said he had recently received a letter from a man who said he was the prophet Elijah. In the letter, the man said he was “called by God to go to Israel to bomb one of the holy temples.”

Nuns who teach at the parish school adjacent to the church said the man was angry because girls from the school were allowed to read from the Scriptures during the Mass.

All Participate

“It was a children’s Mass and when you have a children’s Mass you let them participate as much as possible,” said Sister Sharon Houle.

“I heard that he asked (Rossiter) if he gave permission for the girls to read, and of course, Father answered in the affirmative,” she said.

The 200 children in class next door to the church were sent home. None of the youngsters were hurt.

The church is on the main street of Onalaska, a western Wisconsin town of about 10,000 near La Crosse.

Police gave chase to a man carrying a shotgun as he fled from the church. He dropped the gun after a few blocks and lay on the ground. He was taken to the La Crosse County jail.

Woman Screamed

Ruth Wurtz, who manages a bank branch across the street from the church, said she realized something was wrong when she got to work at 9 a.m.

“A woman came flying out of the church area, screaming and her arms in the air, just screaming and sobbing,” she said. “Two other people came out of the school across the parking lot from there and they were hugging and standing in the parking lot.”

She said the shootings occurred after the children had been dismissed from the Mass.

Wurtz said Rossiter was “a great big Irish priest. He was loved by a lot of people.”