MD is somewhere close to the top with regards to robbery. Now it seems that one enterprising criminal has decided to go where there will be numerous targets.....church:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/lo...2jan02,1,4923524.story?coll=bal-local-harford
Churchgoers robbed in Harford County
Gunman enters sanctuary during service
staff and wire reports
January 2, 2006
Harford County authorities were searching last night for a gunman who entered a church in the Fountain Green community near Bel Air yesterday evening during a service and robbed several worshipers of their cash and valuables, said a spokesman for the county sheriff's office.
Shortly before 7 p.m., a man armed with a handgun and wearing dark clothing and a ski mask burst into Mount Zion United Methodist Church in the 1600 block of Churchville Road through a rear door during the evening service and began yelling and waving the gun around, said Bob Thomas, the sheriff's spokesman.
About 50 people were attending the service, said Thomas.
The Rev. Craig McLaughlin, pastor of the church, was in the front pew when the gunman barged in.
"I was hoping and praying that everyone [would stay] still and calm, and hoped that there would be no violence," McLaughlin said last night.
"He ordered several children and their father to go up the aisles getting purses and wallets," McLaughlin, 48, said.
The gunman forced the children and their father to put the wallets and purses in a pile on the floor and used a bag to gather them up, the pastor said. At least eight people were robbed, said Thomas.
The gunman seemed very nervous, McLaughlin said.
After ordering frightened congregants to the front of the church, the gunman fled with an undetermined amount of cash and valuables, Thomas said.
No injuries were reported. "Thank God, everyone did stay calm," the pastor said.
The incident lasted about 10 minutes, McLaughlin said. After the gunman fled, several churchgoers called police on their cell phones.
Thomas said he could not recall members of a church being robbed during services and described the incident as "particularly unusual and frightening."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/lo...2jan02,1,4923524.story?coll=bal-local-harford
Churchgoers robbed in Harford County
Gunman enters sanctuary during service
staff and wire reports
January 2, 2006
Harford County authorities were searching last night for a gunman who entered a church in the Fountain Green community near Bel Air yesterday evening during a service and robbed several worshipers of their cash and valuables, said a spokesman for the county sheriff's office.
Shortly before 7 p.m., a man armed with a handgun and wearing dark clothing and a ski mask burst into Mount Zion United Methodist Church in the 1600 block of Churchville Road through a rear door during the evening service and began yelling and waving the gun around, said Bob Thomas, the sheriff's spokesman.
About 50 people were attending the service, said Thomas.
The Rev. Craig McLaughlin, pastor of the church, was in the front pew when the gunman barged in.
"I was hoping and praying that everyone [would stay] still and calm, and hoped that there would be no violence," McLaughlin said last night.
"He ordered several children and their father to go up the aisles getting purses and wallets," McLaughlin, 48, said.
The gunman forced the children and their father to put the wallets and purses in a pile on the floor and used a bag to gather them up, the pastor said. At least eight people were robbed, said Thomas.
The gunman seemed very nervous, McLaughlin said.
After ordering frightened congregants to the front of the church, the gunman fled with an undetermined amount of cash and valuables, Thomas said.
No injuries were reported. "Thank God, everyone did stay calm," the pastor said.
The incident lasted about 10 minutes, McLaughlin said. After the gunman fled, several churchgoers called police on their cell phones.
Thomas said he could not recall members of a church being robbed during services and described the incident as "particularly unusual and frightening."
About fifteen percent of the congregation is armed at any given time, including myself. I keep a Glock 27 in my "special" bible zip cover or my Springfield 1911 A1. If he wants to wave a gun in the sanctuary at my church he is in for a real surprise.