Fulton County Police Dept. Via AP

Floyd Palmer is accused in the fatal shooting of a church volunteer.

A man accused of killing a volunteer leading a prayer service at a Georgia megachurch was charged more than a decade ago with shooting a co-worker at a mosque in Maryland, according to police documents.

Floyd Palmer was acting as security at a Baltimore mosque in June 2001 when he shot another man working with him, wounding him in the back, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. Palmer tried to fire the gun again, but it jammed. When other people ran over to him, he turned the gun on them, but it again wouldn't fire, according to the documents.

The report did not say why Palmer shot the man in the back.

But Christine Singleterry, Palmer’s former mother-in-law, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Palmer shot the man following an argument. “He got him to go outside and then shot him in the parking lot,” she was quoted as saying. She told the newspaper Palmer served about 18 months in a mental facility and was released.

It's not clear when he made his way  to Atlanta. He had been working as a maintenance facilities employee at World Changers Church International near College Park, but quit in August for "personal reasons," Fulton County Police Cpl. Kay Lester said. 

On Wednesday, authorities said Palmer, 51, calmly walked into a chapel as Greg McDowell, 39, was leading a morning prayer service for a group of about 25 people. 

Only McDowell was shot. Authorities are trying to figure out if the two men knew each other. 

Palmer casually walked out of the chapel and police arrested him several hours later when they spotted his station wagon at a mall in suburban Atlanta. Police said they have not found the gun.

John Bazemore / AP

A Fulton County Sheriff's Deputy stands guard outside the World Changers International church after a fatal shooting inside on Wednesday.

Police searched Palmer’s apartment in Riverdale in Clayton County on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the Journal-Constitution reported.  They removed several items from the apartment, but it was not immediately clear what they took out, the newspaper said.

Visibly distraught members of McDowell's family showed up at the Fulton County jail for Palmer's first court hearing Thursday, but he waived his appearance.

Palmer faces charges of homicide murder, felony murder, aggravated assault murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. His next hearing is Nov. 8. 

Ken Terry, a church pastor acting as a spokesman for McDowell's family, said the church family was distraught and trying to comfort McDowell's family. 

"He would be considered a model dad," Terry said. "To have this happen is just devastating." 

Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com

Renee Sunshine Lewis of the Fulton County victim assistance program called McDowell "a very loving person, extremely loving" and said "the family is just asking for prayers at this time." 

Although the campus has security officers and surveillance cameras, Lester said the suspect was known to some at the service, so his presence wouldn't have been unusual. 

The violence upset members and neighbors of the church, which is one of the largest in the United States, claiming 30,000 members at the main campus and a ministry of satellite churches across the country. 

World Changers is led by the Rev. Creflo Dollar, who was not there at the time of the shooting. 

Along with Bishop Eddie Long, Dollar is one of the most prominent African-American preachers based around Atlanta who have built successful ministries on the prosperity gospel, which teaches that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches. 

Dollar didn't immediately respond to media requests for comment, but he preached Wednesday evening at a Bible study in the campus's larger World Dome sanctuary. He repeated the importance of having faith in God even when bad things happen and rejecting fear and doubt. 

"We pray for this family," he said, referring to McDowell. "We pray for both families and then we pray for every family that's in here tonight."

More content from NBCNews.com:

• Federal jury acquits cousins of gay hate crime in landmark case
• Bullet in chest doesn't stop N.Y. cop from catching suspect
• Surprise intruder: 300-pound deer breaks into Philadelphia home
• Hurricane Sandy could be a 'Nor'easter on steroids'
• Illinois hoarder ordered to get rid of hundreds of birds

Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

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

Fayette County Sheriff's Office

Creflo Dollar booking photo

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- Creflo Dollar, founder and pastor of World Changers Church International, was arrested early Friday on charges involving the choking of his 15-year-old daughter.

Dollar was taken into custody at his Fayetteville home and charged with simple battery and cruelty to children, NBC station WXIA of Atlanta reported.

According to the report from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, Dollar's daughter called police to say that her father attacked her after they argued about whether the daughter could attend a party.

The report says the daughter alleged that Dollar choked her, then threw her to the ground, punched her and hit her with his shoe. The responding officer noticed a scratch on the daughter's neck near her throat; the daughter said her father gave her the scratch during the fight.

When police interviewed Dollar, he said he tried to restrain his daughter when she "became very disrespectful" after he told her she couldn't go to the party, according to the report. Dollar admitted to spanking his daughter and wrestling her to the floor, but said it was because she hit him.

Dollar was taken to the Fayette County Jail after his arrest. Fayette County Police spokesman Brent Rowan said Dollar had his first appearance in magistrate court Friday and posted $5,000 bond, WXIA reported.

“As a father I love my children and I always have their best interest at heart at all times, and I would never use my hand to ever cause bodily harm to my children," Dollar said in a statement released by his lawyer Nikki Bonner and obtained by The Associated Press. "The facts in this case will be handled privately to further protect my children. My family thanks you for your prayers and continued support."

Dollar will make no further comments since he's involved in an ongoing criminal matter, but he is expected to preach Sunday, Bonner said.

According to his website, Dollar began World Changers ministries in 1986 and it grew, moving in 1996 the  8,500-seat World Dome, built in College Park  for nearly $18 million without any bank financing. He and his wife, Taffi, church co-pastor, have five children. The ministry has 16 satellite locations and plans more. Creflo and Taffi Dollar also host "Changing Your World" television and radio broadcasts. The program is featured on the Trinity Broadcast Network. 

Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com

Dollar was among six televangelists investigated in 2011 by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and the Senate Finance Committee. Their report raised questions about the personal use of church-owned airplanes, luxury homes and credit cards by pastors and their families, and about the lack of oversight of finances by boards often packed with the televangelists' relatives and friends.

Dollar and his World Changers Church International of College Park and Creflo Dollar Ministries were among four televangelism organizations that the committee said did not cooperate with the investigation.

Dollar was a favorite of Rudy Eugene, the naked man shot dead by a Miami officer May 26 when, police say, he would not stop eating the face of a homeless man, Ronald Poppo.

“We watched Creflo Dollar Ministries every morning,” Yovonka Bryant, Eugene’s girlfriend, told a news conference covered by NBCMiami.com on Wednesday.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Oil boom brings wealth and waste to North Dakota
• Man using Zimmerman's old cell phone number gets threatening call
• 3 men found shot dead in car near Columbia University in New York
• Did Canada's alleged cannibal killer Luka Magnotta strike in LA?
• Video: Siblings late to school 160 times

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook