Brookfield, Wis.
A computer technician opened fire with a 9 mm pistol during a Living Church of God service in Wisconsin last week, killing the pastor and six others. “We all went to the floor, everybody,” one of the 50 churchgoers said in a 911 call. The gunman, Terry Ratzmann, 44, killed himself after a friend shouted, “Stop! Why?” Ratzmann was reportedly depressed because he was about to lose his job, and had recently stormed out of a church service during the pastor’s sermon. The founder of the fundamentalist sect warned recently that the U.S. was headed for “total bankruptcy.” Investigators said the doomsday warnings might have pushed Ratzmann over the edge.
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