E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
John Bazemore / AP
A Fulton County sheriff's deputy stands guard Wednesday outside the World Changers International church near College Park, Ga., after a fatal shooting inside.
Updated at 4:28 p.m. ET: A former employee entered a chapel at an Atlanta-area megachurch headed by televangelist Creflo Dollar early Wednesday and fatally shot a volunteer staff member leading a prayer service, police said.
The gunman walked calmly into the chapel at World Changers Church International's main campus in College Park, Ga., and shot a 39-year-old volunteer and church member who was leading a prayer service, Fulton County Police Cpl. Kay Lester said at a news conference.
The victim, Gregory McDowell, was transported to South Fulton Hospital, where he later died.
The suspect, identified by police as Floyd Palmer, 52, fled the scene in a car. He was arrested Wednesday afternoon, said Eric Heinze with the U.S. Marshals Service. No details were immediately available on his capture.
Palmer had worked at the church doing facilities maintenance but resigned his position in August, Lester said.
“He walked in calmly, opened fire inside the church and left as calmly as he came,” Lester said.
It was not immediately clear how many shots were fired.
Fulton County Police Dept. Via AP
Floyd Palmer was arrested in the church shooting.
About 20 to 25 people were inside the chapel but no one else was hurt, Lester said.
Dollar was not at the church when the shooting happened, she said.
Lester said it’s possible the shooter and the victim knew each other.
A few schools in the surrounding neighborhood were locked down temporarily.
World Changers Church has about 20 campuses throughout the country. The church founded by Dollar, who is its senior pastor, claims about 30,000 members and has an $18 million, 8,500-seat sanctuary about 15 miles from downtown Atlanta.
Dollar, who's known for his pinstriped suits and charismatic sermons, has written several books offering followers his advice on how to get out of debt and take lessons from the Bible in building wealth so they can better live as Christians.
Edgar Zuniga, NBC News Atlanta, contributed to this story.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Teacher's aide suspended after role in '65 torture death
- Man shot, killed at Georgia megachurch; suspect on the loose
- Colorado wildfire forces hundreds to evacuate
- Cops: La. woman set herself on fire, wrote racial slurs
- Body found in N.J. is that of missing 12-year-old girl, uncle says
Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
My very sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victim of this crime.
Hopefully, the authorities will quickly capture and prosecute the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law.
This is why I don't go to church. It's dangerous for the mind and the body.
RIP.
"The church founded by Dollar, who is its senior pastor...."
---shouldn't that really say, "The church founded by the Almighty Dollar?"
Ga., joins the ranks!
XD yours is one of the few showing remorse and condolences for the family of this dead man.
The rest are nothing but callous comments about the minister.
A man is DEAD. Show some respect.
My guess, the murderer shot the man who was boinking his wife.
Goes with the territory, good christians that they are.
It was Gods will.
I am sorry for the man's family's loss and I hope they find the shooter soon.
The Stripper who lived two houses down the road from me went to a Mega Church in Washington - Mega Churches are a good place to be a seedy person and still deal with your guilt...this gal knew the Bible as well as anyone - that made her even more creepy. I turned her down for sex - but looking back now, she wasn't any crazier than the so called normal women I've been with.
XD; are you a paid troll? Many of the first comments (mostly on shootings) seem to be of the type to provoke emotions in posters.
J_P_PatchesPal_1
Nope... don't get paid... Where do I go to find work like that?
Seriously, I always post a note of condolence, primarily due to the fact that I DO have great empathy for the victims and their families of random acts of violence. It serves absolutely no purpose and does nothing but create heartache for the victims and those around them, and more problems for the perpetrator when they are eventually caught.
Have a great and SAFE day!!
Still the best line Cheech and Chong ever delivered; I used to be all messed up on drugs, then I found the lord, now I'm all messed up on the lord.
XD; actually posting anything on these types of articles can cause the family members to suffer further. My grandmother was a rape victim which produced my mother - my mother suffered her entire life from being the "bastard child". Back then they made the rapist marry the rape victim, to hold the @!$%# accountable...where was the empathy back then?
So, any post can be harmful if the wrong people get that information.
Janine, why should anyone here show remorse ? Only the shooter should. Besides, it is possible to show compassion for the victim and his family and still think and say that these megachurches are nothing more than a scam.
"My very sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victim of this crime.
Hopefully, the authorities will quickly capture and prosecute the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law."
Ok J P, I give up. How is this trolling?
Atheist trolls always come out to mock dead Christians. They claim moral superiority and an evolved thinking, but just reading this first thread shows their personality to be more like a high school bully.
Elwood Blues: "We're on a mission from Gad."
THAT ladies & gentlemen, is how U troll.
:-P
Afternoon, XD & Mr Burns or should I call U Monty? ;-)
J_P_PatchesPal_1
I can't say much about that as I wasn't there then. However, I will say that the empathy was likely there just not noted "openly".
Sorry if I offended you, but that does NOT diminish my condolences to the victims family and friends.
@MrBurns
How exactly is it that you know the religious disposition of the people commenting on these threads?
Oh, and by the way. Atheists not only claim moral superiority, apparently also secular federal courts do as well.
Evolved thinking? Not so much, advanced understanding of the world and it's workings is what I think you were after.
MrBurns
Christian trolls always come out to mock dead Atheists. They claim moral superiority and an evolved thinking, but just reading this first thread shows their personality to be more like a high school bully.
Sounds just as dumb as your comment, MrBurns, and all I had to do was change two words.
"Atheists not only claim moral superiority"
By telling people you "know" God doesnt exist despite wanting tolerance? And not being able to explain how it's impossible? I mean, if you don't know how it's impossible then you logically don't know it doesn't exist.
"advanced understanding of the world and it's workings is what I think you were after."
Not necessarily. Not in an absolute sense anyways. String theory, the most mathematically dense scientific theory, suggests there are an infinite number of universes. As far as we do actually know anything we have done or even IMAGINED could and should exist somewhere. If fairies could be inevitable, how could you possibly "know" one "specific" thing does not exist? If you wanted to claim your logical then why not be agnostic if you'd rather not believe in God? At least agnosticism, unlike religion and atheism, does not make any assumptions. Some people explain the fine turning of our universe to an infinite being. Others explain this by saying there an infinite number of universes, and somehow we just happen to be in the right one. Oh, no... there's that infinity again....
"If it can't be proven it doesn't exist." I guess the entire universe can't exist then.
Same old, same old. Every day in Atlanta is a series of non-stop black on black shootings, carjackings, rapes, dog fighting rings, drug deals gone bad, pre-teen prostitution. Atlanta hasn't been a good city for decent, law abiding human beings for 3+ decades.
Ryanb,
Most atheists don't claim to "know" there is no god. They just don't believe in one.
As a matter of fact, if you're a christian, you are much more hardcore: You "know" there is a god, you "know" how it thinks and what it wants, and you "know" there aren't any other gods.
That is an incredibly ignorant comment. The universe exists. How do we know?
Because we're a part of it.
It is sad that this happened, and also in a church.
However, this is the kind of church that tells people that God wills that terrible things happen to women. I hope they all see the light, because God does not will tragedy. I am a Christian, and I do not attend a mega-church.
"Atlanta hasn't been a good city for decent, law abiding human beings since before the damnedyankees invaded."
Fix-ed it!
U R welcome. ;-)
George Carlin predicted this! After Columbine, he said "Now we have guns in school. You know what I'm waiting for...guns in church!
I may be a hardened, card carrying atheist...but to be gunned down in church (or anywhere, really) is just plain WRONG. My condolences to the family and friends of the victim.
PS - The fact that the "pastor"'s last name is DOLLAR should be a bit of a clue as to what's wrong with the whole "Megachurch" thing here folks...
@Ryanb21
You have an interesting straw man going.
First, no one ever said god doesn't exist as a fact. In thousands of years however, no one has been able to show that he does. Atheists refute the claim: "there is a god"
Factor in other religions, the fact that man invents religions of all stripes and sizes, invents rationales even in the face of extreme ignorance, and tries to come up with reasons for unexplained events, then your whole god idea becomes more and more difficult to reconcile with the real world.
The onus or burden of proof is on the person making an extraordinary claim. ie: there is a god. Not the person saying, you haven't shown that to be true. Saying there is an all knowing, all powerful, omnipotent being as described by people that had less understanding of the world than a current 5th grader is an extraordinary claim.
You can postulate and imagine anything, that said, because imagined, does that make them real?
Does failure to disprove something make them real?
Can you disprove Santa Claus?
Tooth Fairy?
Big Foot?
Loc Ness?
Space Aliens?
Are you starting to get the picture? If you play by that rule, then you have to acknowledge the existence of Ra the egyptian sun god or Odin.
ra and jesus are sun symbols.but thats another story.
"
That is an incredibly ignorant comment. The universe exists. How do we know?
Because we're a part of it."
Actually I wasn't arguing or asking if "we might not exist". If anything in my previous comments on this article were ignorant, this was not it. Allow me to explain: The universe existed before humans and will most likely exist after... we never proved it's existence and therfore caused the universe to exist. This is why that tool for science does not coincide with how things, including the universe, exist at all... it's great for making what we know as certain as we can be, but it's simply not how the universe works.
"Does failure to disprove something make them real?"
Never said that. Doesn't mean they don't exist either. Agnosticism for the logical win... no assumptions.
...Wasn't this Creflo Dollar arrested recently for beating his kids? ...Creflo sez "Give me a dollar!".
That made me LOL, thanks!
@Only: ...Actually, I just looked it up and Creflo Dollar was arrested for punching and choking his 15-year-old daughter in June, 2012. ...You can Google it. ...Seriously! ...It didn't mention anything about Creflo saying "Give me a dollah!" while he was punching and choking his daughter, but I wouldn't put it past him.
Well, it was only one of his kids, and all he did was strangle her and beat her with a shoe....
Anyway, Creflo sez "Give me a dollar!"
lol, thanks for that, getagrip!
@Smack: ...You are welcome! ...I did check further and found other accounts, stating the daughter was also whacked with a shoe by ol' Creflo previous to the punching and choking incident that brought on his arrest. ...I wonder what he does to adult church members when they don't "give Creflo a dollah!".
Getting wealthy for Christ. OH my. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. Evil the dollar is. Clint Eastwood or Yoda.
Tax man made religion!
Creflo has a terrific hustle going...and its all tax exempt; thank you Jeezuz !
oh oh oh: Spot on. I feel sorry for the victim and his family, but this is the kind of church that has been telling people that God wills that women suffer.
The Bible blesses the poor, not the rich. Nobody wants to remember the Sermon given in the Gospel of St. Luke, and they carefully reinterpret St. Matthew:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (St. Matthew 5:3). Or, the stronger statement in St. Luke 6:20, "Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." St. Luke 6:24, "But woe to you that are rich, for you have your consolation."
And they reinterpret the Magnificat, especially St. Luke 1:51-53, "He hath showed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away."
Ban handguns.
At least he died doing something he loved.
That was milk-out-the-nose inducing. Well played.
Its ok to laugh at murder as long as they are Christian right? Do you atheists have no shame?
MrBurns,
As an atheist I look at it as a mini-Crusade, it's all good!
MrBurns
Its ok to laugh at murder as long as they are Atheist right? Do you christians have no shame?
Again, just as dumb as your comment. And again -- all i had to do was change two words.
My philosophy is that it's o.k. to laugh at all death. Why?
Because life is a grand practical joke and death is the punchline.
Agreed. That's why they save it for last.
"Life is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel." ---Horace Walpole
It's threads like this which is why I hate the comments I read in the Michigan Sikh temple shooting thread. Like I said, some of you are hypocrites and you know who you are.
Gunman opens fire at Sikh temple in Wisconsin; 7 dead
That said I hope he gets the full punishment he deserves and I am sorry for the family and people who witnessed it.
Jeff, it's called dark humor. No one is laughing at the guy's death.
Admittedly dark humor is not for everyone. But chill out with the fake outrage. Peace.
Sorry Creflo , but I'll continue to go to my little country church where the preacher knows my name.
OK, here is the story coming out of NRA headquarters.
The preacher told the janitor that he was going to hell for looking in the girl's bathroom and the janitor 'stood his ground.' No case, no problem. Just a perfect example of self defense. Besides, the preacher knew someone who owned a hoodie, had been issued a parking ticket just days prior to the confrontation, and had a pocket full of Skittles - proof positive!
Ain't America great, becoming just like it used to be!
I, personally, just can't wait to get back to Romney's plan, where a man can treat his slaves according to the needs of his off-shore accounts.
If you want to make any money you got to fill up a lot of seats. A big church is more cost efficent than building a lot of small ones. IT ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
tex2c, you sound like an idiot and your not funny.
Realist-1226632
At least tex2c used proper punctuation and grammar (well, mostly proper grammar, but that ain't no biggie). "Your" comment does you no service.
Realist,
You sound like and idiot and YOU ARE not very well educated. LOL
The late, great blues singer Son House said it best in the song "Preachin' Blues". "Gonna become me a Baptist minister...so I don't have to work".
...Creflo sez "Give me a dollah!".
What are you? 10 yrs old????
Here's how you get out of debt: Start a mega-church & earn tax-free dollars. What a group of naive fools to give money to this "man of God."
even gary heidnik had a church service at his home.and people came! you right jj, ive thought about starting a religion myself.it can be done.
I've joked about establishing a phony-baloney mega-church as a retirement get rich quick backup plan. Figure many people spend big bucks to attend sports events and others spend big bucks to sit in a big building listening to a shill preach the Word of the Lord. It's all entertainment.
Well well well the enemy is busy at work overtime, lets pray for the family and members, this man is really evil, my goodness during prayer meeting, he better really fall down on his face and beg Gods mercy and pardon, that killer will pay, touch not the Lords anointing, thats the Word of God, not mine. My sympathy to Cref and his ministry and victim family.
Wow, this story has all the stereotypes: black-on-black crime, televangelist named "Creflo Dollar" who was once arrested for domestic violence, Atlanta, etc.
My first thought was to defend Atl since I live in Atl........but I have nothing!!!!
I guess your name fits you, "blind" because no where in the article does it state the race of the shooter or the victim. Actually, I doubt if you're just blind, obviously more like ignorant.
DD in Indy - two clues as to the race of Creflo Dollar. First, his name. Second, try Googling him and see for yourself. The domestic violence accusation is true.
It's sad but true...no matter what their race is, all televangelist like this man are hypocrites and shysters only out to make a buck for themselves. They prey on the ignorant and poor.
DD..They were both black.......just saying
No more callers, Please! We have a winner on Line 2.
Hey DD....The article has a photo posted of the shooter.
We need more of these
This article is stupid. What do Creflo Dollar's pinstripe suits and charismatic sermons have to do with the fact that a man is dead?
In the Bible, a well dressed, charismatic man was known to raise the dead. The writer was hoping Creflo would up his game...
Absolutely nothing. But, of course the media has to make it interesting. I'm definitely not a fan of Creflo Dollar, but it's funny how so many people sit on here and make ignorant assumptions when they really know nothing about him. So much stupidity in the world....
I know one guy who has a home church, and take the little old ladies for there last dollar. They meet at his home 8 time a week. Something every day and twice on Sundays. It way to much work for the money.
With a name like Dollar, he was destined to be swindler.
What is really funny is how Creflo can sell after life insurance. But in fairness I prefer my religious shucksters in pinstripes instead of robes and funny hats..
I always wanted Reverend Dollar to be my pimp name. Then I saw Creflo Dollar and knew it was no longer meant to be.
Anyone can live like a Christian regardless of status. Why is this church focused on money instead of The Word? Money does not make anyone better than others.
Money does not make anyone better than others.
Are you new to this dimension? Cash rules everything around me..
Oh yeah, Eferrieia? Tell that to the folks with money.
Wasn't it Jesus ( or was it Moses? Long time since I read the sci-fi novel called the Bible) that said "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven"?
@ Bad Animal
haha dollar dollar bill y'all
^Was waiting for someone to finish that reference.
THANKS!!
...Maybe the guy who got shot refused to "Give Creflo a Dollah!".
You obviously haven't seen him work a crowd. Creflo could talk the panties off of a nun.
Any priest can do that.
Priests go for a younger demographic I'm afraid...
Oh Great, so now everyone in Church will carry guns, what an idiotic World we live in
Maybe they should. All mass shootings except 1 in the past decades took place in "gun free zones".
sparrow,
Too late. I've been carrying in church for years and don't intend to stop. At least I know I can protect the people I love who are with me!!
In my church CCW is welcome. As the saying goes "God helps those who help themselves" If you want to plead for your life, you are truly an idiot. Good luck crying into your phone during the wait for help on your next 911 call. My pastor loves my 1911 colt commander. Praise god and pass the ammo!
guns schmuns!
My condolences to the deceased's family. At least these "christians" are only killing each other.
Why condolences? He's a Christian that died in church. That has to earn him VIP status on the line into Heaven...
Since the shooter is unknown and still at large, how could you possibly know if he is a Christian (yes, it is spelled with a capital "C".) And, even if he is, Christians are not perfect. We sin as much if not more than anyone else. What we do have, if we are repentant, is forgiveness in Christ who gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins.
Way to go. Might it not stand to reason that the victim's family is also Christian? "My simultaneous condolences and insults to the family of the deceased." Why bother?
PD...when they start acting like christians, maybe we'll start capitalizing it.
Guess you don't care about all of the other folks that had to watch a man die huh? Men, women and children that will have to deal with the graphic images of that day for the rest of their lives. But at least they are only killing each other. Right? Evil doers come from all walks of life and from every religion or don't you have a clue to this fact? The first part of your post made sense but the last part comes off as holier-then-tho. I agree with Bry, Why bother?
what do you call a mormon with dementia?......
a Baptist.
MORMON - 1 M = MORON...NUFF SAID!!!
The description of the gunman is in his thirties wearing a shirt and tie. Seriously? Should be really easy to find.
Yea, I hear you. I haven't seen anyone like that in years. (/sarcasm off)
Falling Down....good movie.
This could of been anyone of us or our family getting shot, why is everyone attacking Creflo Dollar and not sympathising with the victim and his family, that man dead may have wife and small kids to take care of, my good God, please people have a little more conscious and respect the family of the dead man, we never know when our day is coming, this is a time to pray despite whether we like Creflo Dollar ministry or not, it could of been anywhere else this incident could happen and to anyone.
I agree with you completely, but you're wasting your time. Too much ignorance here.
Only in Geprgia. Give me a dollar, or quite a few, and you're saved. Unless of course you happen to be unluckly enough to piss someone off enough to get killed.Sure I hae sympathy for the family. And I hope the victim can RIP. But mega-churches are gonna see this type of violence happen more and more.
Not only in Georgia. Creflo is in wallets like Capital One Bank...
Once again I ask our politicians, when will you do something about this epidemic of violence? And when will the media understand that promoting hatred and disgust does nothing but aid in the destruction of our moral fabric in this country? And when will the privileged realize that they have some responsibiliity to those who have less? We surely are in a sad, sad state of affairs.
Kraig,
"Once again I ask our politicians, when will you do something about this epidemic of violence? And when will the media understand that promoting hatred and disgust does nothing but aid in the destruction of our moral fabric in this country? And when will the privileged realize that they have some responsibiliity to those who have less?
" We surely are in a sad, sad state of affairs."
The politicians never will because they only pander to those corporations that keep them in office and their concerns about "the epidemic of violence" seems to come up in converstions when their running for office.
The media DOES understand promoting hatred sells, so they "report" biased misinformation to stay on top of their competetors.
And I disagree that "the privileged" should take (have) some responsibility for those who have less.
But I do agree we are in a sad state of affairs.
Better question what did he do to convince guy in the suite that he needed shot. I know a judge who wears his pistols under his robe in court. I have heard that he once say we have lots of people here who need shot. Last guy I talk to who got shot was selling crack. Police will never find the person who shot him. It about sex, power or money, always.
That someone was shot and killed is very sad. More than likely some kind of domestic dispute. Anything beyond that is pure conjecture. As to the preacher, maybe his style and net worth is not important to the story but he is a public figure and public figures get involved in all kinds of stories. That weak minded people get ripped off by scamming preachers is nothing new to the world. Religion sells well in the U.S. and a way to makes lots of money. "A sucker is born every minute".
If I ever become senile enough to enter Creflo Dollar's personal ATM, I hope someone shoots me too. What gullible fools folks are. Ol' Creflo would fit right in with all those wingnuts out in Arizona.
Actually he would horrendously clash with the white.
All those Wingnuts in Arizona? What does having been in the Air Force have to do with anything on this page?
I know an easy way to get and stay out of Debt Creflo, leave yours and all the other Mega-Churches alone.
Meh, another shooting in gun-crazy USA. Not really news. I'm sure there will be a few more tomorrow.
God willing....
If not for guns there would not be a United States Of America. The only thing that is not news is the stories of how guns have saved lives of the innocent. That is not news, or news worthy and never will be. Better to have and not need them then to need and not have them. An unarmed individual is a victim waiting to happen. Training is the key. And yes there will be more tomorrow for sure but you will not see how lives were saved by an armed individual against evil doers. Not media fear feeding newsworthy.
Dear bangunbans,
Bullseye!
God's gentle people.
His last name was "Dollar!" If that doesn't tell you something about his reason for being a Preacher??
My hope is that the people involved will draw close to our Lord and to one another. Why are we so eager for an opportunity to slander Pastor Dollar? He is a vessel from God to bring forth the message of God's Grace and Mercy. Making light of his name? Does someone named 'Jones' mean they will struggle with addiction?
Your passive spirit is not really on target. True religion is pure, the practice of and guidlines of Holiness. salvation is not based on economics for the Christian as this Mr. Dollar has pursued. The Bible's theme is one God and His relationship to mankind coupled with His deisere to rescue fallen man from certain and promised destruction because of his sins.
If the Minister is not preaching salvation Godliness and Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord, he's wearing the wrong mantle.