Gunman opens fire on wedding ceremony in New Hampshire injuring bride and bishop before being tackled to the ground by guests
On October 12, a wedding ceremony in New Hampshire was disrupted by a gunman, identified as 37-year-old Dale Holloway, injuring the bride and the bishop presiding over the ceremony before he was tackled by wedding guests. The bride, identified as 60-year-old Claire McMullen, was shot in the arm while Bishop Stanley Choate, 75, was shot in the chest.
No deaths have been reported yet but the bishop is reportedly in a serious condition. The groom, Mark Castiglione, also suffered an injury after he hit his head during the attack. Holloway's attack was put to a stop when the wedding guests tackled him to the ground.
"From my understanding, they basically gang-tackled him," Pelham Police Chief Joseph Roark said in a press conference on October 12. "There was a struggle ... Minor injuries occurred to the other guests who were in the struggle with the shooter."
Holloway allegedly opened fire on about 40 guests at the New England Pentecostal Ministries in Pelham, just after 10 am. Police officers arrived at the scene within three minutes and reportedly found the shooter "detained and subdued" by the wedding guests. Holloway was promptly taken into custody by the police.
The chief added that it "does not seem to be a random event". The New York Police Department Counterterrorism Bureau assured the public that it is "closely monitoring the shooting incident at the New England Pentecostal church in Pelham, NH."
Holloway has reportedly been charged with first-degree assault and knowingly causing bodily injury by means of a deadly weapon. The Boston Herald reports that the attack is believed to be connected to another shooting, that of 60-year-old pastor Luis Garcia of Manchester who was allegedly shot in the neck inside a home on Ridgemont Drive in Londonderry by Brandon Castiglione, 24, on October 1.
Garcia's funeral service was to be held at the same church after the wedding and his death happened inside the home of 60-year-old Mark Castiglione, who is Brandon’s father, and the groom of Saturday morning’s wedding. According to Garcia’s family, the pastor had been trying to help Brandon, who has been convicted in several drug-related crimes in the past. The Daily Mail reports that Holloway was listed as a stepson in an obituary for Garcia but the connection has not been confirmed by authorities.
Bishop Choate and his wife Ruth Choate have been leading the church since 1987. Neivia Choate, identifying herself as the bishop's niece, wrote about the shooting on Facebook saying, "A coward walked into my family's church today at NEP New England Pentecostal Church and shot my uncle Bishop Stanley Choate. I call for anyone that knows and believes and In the GOD we serve to get on your knees and pray for my family."