Gunman Kills Two, Takes Own Life at U.S. Missouri Abbey

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, June 11, 2002

Gunman Kills Two, Takes Own Life at U.S. Missouri Abbey

A 71-year-old man opened fire Monday at a sprawling Roman Catholic abbey in Missouri,U.S., killing two monks and wounding two other people before taking his own life, authorities said.

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A 71-year-old man opened fire Monday at a sprawling Roman Catholic abbey in Missouri,U.S., killing two monks and wounding two other people before taking his own life, authorities said.

The body of the gunman was found in the chapel at the Conception Abbey Benedictine monestary, said a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said the man shot himself to death after shooting the others.

Nodaway County Sheriff Ben Espey said an AK-47 and a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle were found nearby.

Names of the gunman and the victims were not immediately released, and the extent of the injuries of the two wounded victims was not known.

It was not immediately clear where at the abbey the bodies of the monks were found.

Authorities had no comment on the motive, including whether it was related to the recent sex abuse scandal involving Catholic priests. Rebecca Summers, spokeswoman for the Kansas City-St. Joseph archdiocese, said her office had no comment on the shootings.

Ronda Strueby, 39, a supervisor in the packaging department of the Abbey's printing house, said all employees were evacuated about 9 a.m.

"One of the monks, Brother Jeremiah, said there's a man in the monastery with a gun, and we need everyone to evacuate," she said in a phone interview. "We were all told to go home.

"There's a lot of helicopters and things around now. We heard he was in the monastery connected to the church. ... It's just not something you think about happening, especially in a religious institution."

The Conception Abbey is a sprawling Benedictine monastery and seminary. The seminary college on campus is the largest priestly training center in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The complex also has a basilica.

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