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<p>Though the suspect was quickly neutralized, panic broke out when the suspect told police a second shooter was near the building.</p>
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<p>Quick action by alert parishioners and local police are credited with averting a tragedy at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville, Louisiana yesterday.</p>
<p>As 60 children were preparing for their first communion, the parish located south of Lafayette, Louisiana reported that an armed “suspicious person opened the back door.” </p>
<p>“The individual was immediately confronted by parishioners, escorted outside and the police were called,” the parish indicated in a <a href="https://eva.diocesan.com/message/254c17ca409e5f9a777b55dbdb762806c0482e8a?message=254c17ca409e5f9a777b55dbdb762806c0482e8a&;group=d8c12eff4e541965e6f4f2ae44b7bb35493f4e0d&;groupName=All%20Members&;channel=web">statement</a>. </p>
<p>In an interview with the <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/crime_police/a-gun-wielding-teen-tried-to-enter-an-abbeville-church/article_002e48d4-1063-11ef-ab1c-a30c4ad1b35f.html"><i>Acadiana Advocate</i></a>, Abbeville Police Chief Mike Hardy credited parishioners for having disarmed the suspect and having him already pinned to the ground when police arrived.</p>
<p>A livestream <a href="https://www.kadn.com/news/local/abbeville-church-evacuated-during-mass-1-person-taken-into-custody/article_a536a3f0-0fb7-11ef-acc2-3fb16c85abc6.html">video</a> of the Mass captures the tense moments when presiding Father Nicholas DuPre was alerted to the situation. </p>
<p>Though the suspect was quickly neutralized, panic broke out when the suspect told police a second shooter was near the building. That is when law enforcement entered the church to make sure there was no additional danger. No other suspect was found.</p>
<p>The 16-year-old suspect was charged with terrorizing and two counts of possession of a firearm by a juvenile. He is being held in the Abbeville General Hospital Behavioral Unit for medical evaluation. </p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Lafayette, Louisiana Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel credited the quick response of alert parishioners and the Abbeville Police Department for stopping the armed intruder. Credit: Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-12-at-11.31.11-am.png"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Lafayette, Louisiana Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel credited the quick response of alert parishioners and the Abbeville Police Department for stopping the armed intruder. Credit: Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana</p>
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<p>Lafayette, Louisiana Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel said “We are thankful to God that a tragedy was avoided.” “Let us pray for an end to all threats of violence to innocent human life,” he added. </p>
<p>The parish informed that “out of an abundance of caution, we will have uniformed law enforcement at all upcoming Masses.”</p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/louisiana-parishioners-stop-teen-armed-with-rifle-from-entering-first-communion-mass">Source link </a></p>
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Louisiana Parishioners Stop Teen Armed With Rifle From Entering First Communion Mass| National Catholic Register
