Police: Woman fatally shot by ex-boyfriend in church

[Mark Tyson]

Police: Woman fatally shot by ex-boyfriend in church
November 3, 2003

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.- Authorities were searching for a man suspected of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend at a church in front of her family members and friends.

Willie Crowder, 59, waited until services were over at Peaceful Zion Baptist Church on Sunday afternoon to pull out a pistol in the church parking lot and shoot Anne Horne Savage once in the head, witnesses and authorities said.

Savage's 15-year-old daughter, her brother and her sister all grappled with Crowder after the single shot, but the man chased her into the annex building of the church, where he shot Savage four more times as she begged for help, a Seminole County sheriff's news release said.

Savage, 44, died on the scene. Crowder drove away and authorities were trying to find him Monday, authorities said. Crowder, who faces a murder charge, was considered dangerous.

The sheriff's office said Crowder and Savage had been involved in a domestic dispute. Savage had recently broken up with Crowder after a five year relationship, said her sister, Rose Horne.

Horne said she saw the two having a discussion in the church parking lot Sunday and went to see if her sister needed help.

"Then he pulled out this little gun and it went pop. I thought it was a cap gun until I saw Anne fall. And the blood ... ," Horne said.

Horne said she remembered throwing her arms around Crowder's waist to try to stop him, and Crowder pushing her away.

Savage's daughter, Nicky, 15, and brother, the Rev. C.E. Horne, also grappled with Crowder, she said.

"He kept shooting and shooting," said Rose Horne, 40, of Sanford. "It doesn't even seem real. I couldn't make it stop."

Steve Olson, a sheriff's office spokesman, said Savage had an active injunction against Crowder, but further details were not available.

In 2000 Savage asked a judge to issue an injunction against Crowder and that was granted. In March 2001, Crowder was adjudicated guilty of felony battery. Details of that case were not immediately available.

___

Information from: The Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com

 

[BerettaNut92]

In 2000 Savage asked a judge to issue an injunction against Crowder and that was granted. In March 2001, Crowder was adjudicated guilty of felony battery. Details of that case were not immediately available.

I don't know much about FL...*IF* the guy had a CHL (not that it mattered :banghead: ) could he carry at church and can you keep your guns after a felony battery?

 

[TarpleyG]

No way he would've gotten a CCW but if he did, he can carry in a church.

GT

 

[cordex]

...*IF* the guy had a CHL (not that it mattered ) could he carry at church

Not sure he even went into the church at all.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Had a cop kill his estranged wife's boyfriend and then kill himself in front of two of their children here in DC over the weekend...

 

[Standing Wolf]

...Peaceful Zion Baptist Church...

Well, until the criminal showed up, anyway.

 

[280PLUS]

gee,,,

now i don't feel so funny carrying in church,,,

"hey fadda, could ya say some kind of blessing for my snubbie, ya know, so's it shoots straight and only gets bad guys?"

m

 

[pax]

Horne said she remembered throwing her arms around Crowder's waist to try to stop him, and Crowder pushing her away.

Savage's daughter, Nicky, 15, and brother, the Rev. C.E. Horne, also grappled with Crowder, she said.

"He kept shooting and shooting," said Rose Horne, 40, of Sanford. "It doesn't even seem real. I couldn't make it stop."

And that, ladies and germs, is why I carry my handgun everywhere I go, "even to church."

pax

 

[C.R.Sam]

Amen.

Sam

 

[El Tejon]

"couldn't make it stop"??? Did you try shooting back, sheople?

 

[JonnyB]

Does someone here in Minnesota have attorney David Lillehaug's email address? He's the guy heading up the lawsuit against the state on behalf of a group of churches. He should see this (not that he'd get it...).

JB

 

[J Miller]

Those restraining orders and the Lautenburg Act sure prevent this kind of crime, doesn't it.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Well, contrary to the thread's title and article's title, the shooting was NOT in church at all as noted by the posted news account. As noted, it does not state if the shooter went in the church. Maybe the reason why he waited until after services were over (as pointed out in the account), was that he wasn't in the church and so he was waiting for the ex-wife to come out. When would she come out? She would come out when the service was over.

There is no reason to sensationalize a story with false details when the story in and of itself is sensational. The shooting was NOT in church and the title indicating it was plays on the idea that we typically think of church as sanctuary and comes up in debates on whether we should or should not carry in church, even if it is legal. The only significance of the church to this story is that the shooting happened AFTER church and apparently in the parking lot. The shooting could very well have happened after the family finished eating lunch and was in the eatery parking lot. Contextually, nothing changes when noted in that manner.

 

[revlar]

Read the story again Double Naught.

He shot her once - she ran back into the church annex - and he shot her four more times as she begged for help.

This is not sensationalism - it's just the truth.

 

[El Tejon]

00, huh? I read that he shot her once in the head and then chased her into the church and shot her four additional times.

I believe the church is significant as it illustrates that evil may occur anywhere, even in church, and that we should be ready.

 

[litman252]

I believe that if people carried to/in church, they would have the gun when walking out of the church.

Tony