UPDATE: 'Lots of people woke up without a father this morning,' says son of church elder shot dead in Salmon Arm

One man is dead, another person is in hospital and a suspect is in police custody after a shooting at a small church in Salmon Arm, B.C., on Sunday.

This undated photo from the Salmon Arm Church of Christ website shows Gordon Parmenter with his wife Peggy. (Salmon Arm Church of Christ)

Family members have confirmed that the deceased is Gordon Parmenter, an elder at the Salmon Arm Church of Christ. Police say the shooting was not religiously motivated.

Police and B.C. Emergency Health Services said they received calls around 10:30 a.m. PT about two people who had been injured at the church. One of the injured was airlifted to hospital, and is in stable condition, said Salmon Arm RCMP.

The local church was hosting an event when a male allegedly entered the church and shot two parishioners, according to police.

Mounties said a 25-year-old man was taken into custody after being wrestled to the ground by a number of parishioners. A rifle was seized.

1 victim known to suspect

Police said there is no active or ongoing threat to the public.

"Police have determined that at least one of the victims was known to the suspect, and it is not believed at this time the event was religiously motivated," said Staff Sgt. Scott West, the Salmon Arm RCMP detachment commander.

Mark Parmenter, the grandson of Gordon Parmenter, said the family knows the person who allegedly shot the elder Parmenter.

He also told CBC News that his grandparent's home was burned in a suspicious fire in March. Police have not said if the two incidents are related.

The Parmenters have been described by people who know them as a large and religious family. Gordon Parmenter and his wife Peggy were also foster parents.

Cole Wintringham said the Parmenters were his foster parents from 2013 to 2017 and he credits Gordon for helping him graduate high school, develop confidence to participate in theatre, pursue music and go onto college.

"He would never give up on any one of us, he often told me to the effect there were no 'bad kids' just kids who fell through society's cracks," wrote Wintringham in a statement sent to media.

"It is for those kids, myself included, that he dedicated his home and life to helping."

'Our hearts are broken'

Marie Taylor, 79, a member of the church, also released a statement to CBC News regarding the violence at the church on Sunday.

"Our hearts are broken, we feel so blessed to have the faith that we have," it said. "It gives us the strength to love and forgive in any situation. We are praying for all the families affected."

Taylor said elders at the church are usually older volunteers who share their time and experience to help other people, both from the church and in the broader community.

First responders were called to the Salmon Arm Church of Christ on 5th Avenue around 10:30 a.m. PT. (Leah Shaw/CBC)

Her daughter who spoke to CBC News said the congregation is made up of 50 members or less and is a non-denominational Christian church.

According to documents filed with Revenue Canada, the church has been a registered charitable organization since 1967. As of 2018, it had $187,384 in assets, including land and buildings.

It issued tax receipts for gifts totaling $45,595 in the 2018 tax year.</s>Matrix Savage Gathergood, 25, has been charged with murder in connection to the alleged shooting of a church elder in Salmon Arm, B.C. on Sunday morning.

Gathergood faces charges of first degree murder, aggravated assault and disguise with the intent to commit an indictable offence.

RCMP confirm the accused appeared in court by phone Monday morning. He’s been remanded into custody.

Gathergood will appear in Salmon Arm provincial court on April 23.

WATCH: Gunfire rang out during Sunday services, leaving a man dead. Jules Knox reports live from Salmon Arm

Salmon Arm RCMP say the attack happened during an event at the Church of Christ in the city about 100 km north of Kelowna, and investigators do not believe it was religiously motivated.

They said a man entered the church at about 10:30 a.m. and allegedly shot two congregants. One died at the scene, while the other was taken to hospital in stable condition.

READ MORE: Former foster child remembers Salmon Arm shooting victim as selfless man of faith

Several other congregants wrestled the alleged shooter to the ground, police said, adding that officers seized a rifle.

Investigators say the suspect knew at least one of his alleged victims. Family members have identified the deceased victim as 78-year-old church elder Gordon Parmenter.

— With files from the Canadian Press</s>The former foster child said he wept for an hour upon learning of the death

A former foster child of a Salmon Arm, British Columbia shooting victim is remembering Gordon Parmenter as the man who helped him discover his potential.

The foster child, who can’t be named, has identified Parmenter as the man shot to death Sunday at a church in Salmon Arm, about 100 kilometres north of Kelowna.

Salmon Arm RCMP confirm the shooting, which also seriously injured a second man in the church before other parishioners wrestled a 25-year-old man to the ground and held him until police arrived.

READ MORE: Salmon Arm dad killed, man in custody after church shooting

In a statement to The Canadian Press, the former foster child says he lived with Parmenter and his wife Peggy from 2012 or 2013 until he aged out of the system in 2017.

The statement says without Parmenter’s help, he would never have completed high school, discovered his love of music or continued to college, adding that he wept for an hour upon learning of the death.

Charges are pending and police say the suspect knew at least one of the victims, but they note that the attack was not religiously motivated, nor has it created any ongoing risk to public safety.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>Gordon Parmenter was one of two men shot at the Salmon Arm Church of Christ on Sunday, April 14.

Paramedics watch as an air ambulance helicopter takes off with the man injured in a shooting at the Salmon Arm Church of Christ on Sunday, April 14. (Jim Elliot/Salmon Arm Observer)

A Salmon Arm man, Gordon Parmenter is dead after a shooting at the Church of Christ on Sunday, April 14.

Parmenter was identified as the victim of the shooting by his family. His son David believes the shooting was a targeted attack. Another member of the church’s congregation was also shot in the leg and taken away from the scene in an air ambulance.

“I think dad was the intended target, the other man was struck in the leg,” David said.

Read More: Family uprooted by suspicious fire grateful for support

The RCMP have confirmed they have one man in custody. Police spokesperson Cpl. Chris Manseau said there is no active or ongoing threat to the public.

According to David, the man the police have in custody is well known to the Parmenter family.

“Why he was focused on dad, I have no clue,” he said. “He was someone who we wouldn’t have expected to do something like this given all of the previous interactions with him.”

David said he was worshipping at another church across town when he received a text message from his mother saying that his father had been shot. He quickly drove to the Church of Christ and had only been on the scene for a few minutes when the gunman returned and began shooting again, which is when the man who was shot in the leg was hit. David said he was one of a group who wrestled the shooter to the ground and took his weapon away from him.

Read More: Update: Family confirms man killed in shooting at Salmon Arm church

David doesn’t believe the attack was religiously motivated. He said the church service was simply somewhere that the shooter knew his father would be. His father is an elder of the church.

“We’re just very sad about all of this. It’s just pretty senseless. We’re just very sad, not so much angry because I know that the young guy, he’s got some real struggles. We’re just really sad.”

The family was also the victim of a fire which ripped through Gordon’s house on March 14. At the time, police said the fire was suspicious and likely the result of arson. The tires of both vehicles at the burned residence were slashed before or during the blaze.

@SalmonArmjim.elliot@saobserver.netLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter</s>A Salmon Arm man says his father, Gordon Parmenter, was shot and killed Sunday morning by a man armed with an “assault-style rifle” at the Salmon Arm Church of Christ in the B.C. interior.

Parmenter was a 78-year-old elder at the church and was targeted in the shooting, according to his son Dave Parmenter.

“A young man just came in in the middle of the service with an assault-style rifle and targeted one man in the church, and it was my father, and shot him,” Dave Parmenter said.

He said the shooter left the scene and returned moments later before church members tackled him to the ground and held him until police arrived.

“[He] came back a second time and was very focused on him again and shot him another couple of times and in that exchange, he shot another man in the leg who happened to be in the way,” he said.

“Myself and a few others wrestled the man to the ground and took the weapon away from him.”

Parmenter said the alleged shooter and victim were known to each other but a motive is unclear. He said the alleged shooter is “very well-known to our family and was struggling with mental health issues.”

Parmenter said his father was a man of faith, a cabinet-maker by trade, and fostered youth.

“Many years of fostering, many years of service in his church, many years of pouring his heart out to others,” he said.

“I just know that everybody is sad. It’s such a sad thing to happen. There’s lots of victims now and the young man is also a victim.”

Parmenter confirmed his father’s home also burned down in an arson last month.

A second person who was injured in the shooting was airlifted to hospital. His condition is unknown.

The suspect in the shooting was apprehended by police and remains in custody.

Cpl. Chris Manseau says the area is contained and there is no indication of an active or ongoing threat as officers investigate a “serious incident.”

A video posted to Twitter on Sunday morning showed an air ambulance landing in nearby Blackburn Park. BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) spokesperson Amy Robertson says two ground ambulances and one air ambulance responded to the call that came in at 10:37 a.m.

Witnesses at the scene said people were crying and visibly upset.

“We are at the very early stages of the investigation and will provide an update later today,” said Cpl. Manseau.</s>B.C. Emergency Health Services have confirmed one person was airlifted to hospital after a possible shooting in Salmon Arm on Sunday morning.

BCEHS said they received a call just after 10:30 a.m. and responded to a scene near Salmon Arm Church of Christ.

Two people were hurt in the incident and BCEHS sent two ground ambulances and an air ambulance. One person was airlifted from the scene.

The condition of the second person is unknown.

According to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Manseau, Salmon Arm RCMP have a suspect in custody and there is no active or ongoing threat to the public.

Gloria Taylor, 79, a member of the church, released a statement to CBC News regarding the violence.

"Our hearts are broken, we feel so blessed to have the faith that we have," it said. "It gives us the strength to love and forgive in any situation. We are praying for all the families affected."

Her daughter who spoke to CBC News said the congregation made up of 50 members or less and is a nondenominational Christian church.

Neither of the women would confirm if anyone was shot at the church or what exactly happened on Sunday morning.</s>Gordon Parmenter was the victim of what his family believes was a targeted attack

The family of one of the victims of the shooting at the Salmon Arm Church of Christ has confirmed his identity.

Gordon Parmenter of Salmon Arm was killed in what his son David believes was a targeted attack. Another member of the church’s congregation was also shot in the leg and taken away by Medevac helicopter.

Police spokesperson Cpl. Chris Manseau said there is no active or ongoing threat to the public.

According to David, the man the police have in custody is well known to the Parmenter family.

“Why he was focused on dad, I have no clue,” he said. “He was someone who we wouldn’t have expected to do something likethis given all of the previous interactions with him.”

David said he was worshipping at another church across town when he received a text message from his mother saying that his father had been shot. He quickly drove to the Church of Christ and had only been on the scene for a few minutes when the gunman returned and began shooting again, which is when the man who was shot in the leg was hit.

David said he was one of a group who wrestled the shooter to the ground and took his weapon away from him.

Read More: Update: Family confirms man killed in shooting at Salmon Arm church

David doesn’t believe the attack was religiously motivated. He said the church service was simply somewhere that the shooter knew his father would be. His father is an elder of the church.

“We’re just very sad about all of this. It’s just pretty senseless. We’re just very sad, not so much angry because I know that the young guy, he’s got some real struggles. We’re just really sad.”

The family was also the victim of a fire which ripped through Gordon’s house on March 14. At the time, police said the fire was suspicious and likely the result of arson. The tires of both vehicles at the burned residence were slashed before or during the blaze.

@KelownaCapNews

newstips@kelownacapnews.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>VANCOUVER - A 25-year-old man is in custody following a shooting at a church in Salmon Arm, B.C., that left one person dead and sent another in hospital Sunday morning.

Salmon Arm RCMP say the shooting happened during an event at the Church of Christ in the community about 100 kilometres north of Kelowna, and that investigators do not believe it was religiously motivated.

They say a man entered the church at about 10:30 a.m. and allegedly shot two parishioners.

Police say several parishioners wrestled the alleged shooter to the ground, and officers seized a rifle.

They say one person died at the scene, while the other was taken to hospital in stable condition.

Police say charges against the suspect are pending, and there's no reason to believe there's a risk to public safety.

Investigators say the suspect knew at least one of his alleged victims - neither of whom is being identified.</s>Gordon Parmenter was the victim of what his family believes was a targeted attack

The family of one of the victims of the shooting at the Salmon Arm Church of Christ has confirmed his identity. Gordon Parmenter of Salmon Arm was killed in what his son David believes was a targeted attack. Another member of the church’s congregation was also shot in the leg and taken away by Medevac helicopter.

More to come.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Manseau said the Salmon Arm RCMP are investigating a possible shooting in Salmon Arm.

Manseau said the RCMP have one man in custody in relation to the incident and there is no active or ongoing threat to the public.

“We are at the very early stages of the investigation and we will provide an update later on today,” Manseau said.

A shooting in the Salmon Arm Church of Christ has been confirmed by a witness.

MedEvac is on scene now.

The section of 5th Ave. SW in front of the church remains closed to traffic as police investigate.

An alleged RCMP incident at Blackburn Park in Salmon Arm has a MedEvac on the way to pick up a patient.

The air ambulance is currently on its way to pick up the injured person (people).

There is no further information available that this time.

A reporter is on their way to the scene.

@KelownaCapNews

newstips@kelownacapnews.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>Flags at Salmon Arm City Hall were flying at half mast on Monday, April 15 in response to the tragic shooting at the Church of Christ on Sunday, which ended with one man being killed and another injured. (Martha Wickett/Salmon Arm Observer)

The flags at Salmon Arm City Hall were flying at half mast Monday morning.

On behalf of the city, Mayor Alan Harrison expressed his condolences and support for the families, the church congregation and all residents who have been shaken by Sunday’s tragedy. He also commended emergency personnel for their professionalism and for helping residents to feel safe.

A 25-year-old suspect was taken into custody Sunday after a man with a gun entered the Salmon Arm Church of Christ on Sunday morning, April 14, during a bible session. One man, Gordon Parmenter, 78, was left dead and another injured.

Read more: Update: Salmon Arm dad killed, man in custody after church shooting

Read more: Update: Family confirms man killed in shooting at Salmon Arm church

“We are profoundly saddened by the tragic shooting that occurred in a sacred place of worship. Our city is in shock and mourning.

“Our thoughts turn first to the family, friends and congregation for their anguish and loss. We uphold you with our deepest condolences and a commitment of support in the days ahead.

“We extend our gratitude to our first responders – RCMP, firefighters, paramedics and air ambulance medics. Their professional response was critical to securing the area and restoring safety. A person of interest has been detained, and the RCMP advise that there is no risk to public safety, nor is the shooting believed to be religiously motivated.

“Together, we will remember the events of this day, finding comfort in the courage, compassion and resilience of our community. Please, take care.”

@SalmonArm

marthawickett@saobserver.net

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One person is killed and another injured in a shooting in a church in the British Columbia city of Salmon Arm. The suspected shooter was wrestled to the ground by churchgoers, police say.