Pastor Slay Suspect Planned "Death Day"

Cops Say Mentally Ill 27-Year-Old Marked Sunday On His Calendar, Had Enough Ammo To Kill 30

(AP)  The man charged with gunning down a pastor mid-sermon and then stabbing two churchgoers at an Illinois church had marked the day as "death day" in a planner found in his home, a prosecutor said Monday.

Madison County State's Attorney William Mudge said he had no details on the reference in alleged gunman Terry J. Sedlacek's day planner, only that it singled out Sunday as "death day."

"The only thing I can really comment on is he came armed with many rounds of ammunition and a knife, and I think we can surmise that more bloodshed may have occurred," Mudge said.

Sedlacek, 27, was charged Monday with first-degree murder and aggravated battery in the attack at First Baptist Church that killed the Rev. Fred Winters and left Sedlacek and two congregants who tackled him with stab wounds.

Neither Mudge nor Illinois State Police would comment on a possible motive or on Sedlacek's mental state when he allegedly strode into the church shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, exchanged words with Winters and began firing a handgun.

Sedlacek has suffered bouts of erratic behavior his family has attributed to Lyme disease. But Dr. Eugene Shapiro, a Lyme disease expert at Yale University, said it would be unlikely that tickborne ailment would make someone so violent.

Mudge said Sedlacek had 10 rounds of ammunition in a handgun and was carrying two more 10-round magazines in his pocket on Sunday. The .45-caliber Glock jammed after four shots were fired at Winters, prosecutors said, but not before one bullet fatally struck him in the heart after he deflected the first with his Bible.

Sedlacek was ordered held without bond even as he remained hospitalized Monday in serious condition. Authorities said he stabbed himself in the throat while being wrestled to the ground by the two congregants.

One of them, 39-year-old Terry Bullard, also remained in serious condition Monday. The other, Keith Melton, was treated and released.

But neither Mudge nor state police could say Monday whether Sedlacek knew Winters, a married father of two who had led the church for nearly 22 years.

[Lingo2]

Kennesaw, GA's
Mandatory Gun Law
A Proven Success

11-6-99
The New American magazine reminds us that March 25th marked the 16th anniversary of Kennesaw, Georgia's ordinance requiring heads of households (with certain exceptions) to keep at least one firearm in their homes.

The city's population grew from around 5,000 in 1980 to 13,000 by 1996 (latest available estimate). Yet there have been only three murders: two with knives (1984 and 1987) and one with a firearm (1997).

"After the law went into effect in 1982, crime against persons plummeted 74 percent compared to 1981, and fell another 45 percent in 1983 compared to 1982. And it has stayed impressively low. In addition to nearly non-existent homicide (murders have averaged a mere 0.19 per year), the annual number of armed robberies, residential burglaries, commercial burglaries, and rapes have averaged, respectively, 1.69, 31.63, 19.75, and 2.00 through 1998."

With all the attention that has been heaped upon the lawful possession of firearms lately, you would think that a city that requires gun ownership would be the center of a media feeding frenzy. It isn't. The fact is I can't remember a major media outlet even mentioning Kennesaw. Can you? The reason is obvious. Kennesaw proves that the presence of firearms actually improves safety and security. This is not the message that the media want us to hear. They want us to believe that guns are evil and are the cause of violence. The facts tell a different story.

What is even more interesting about Kennesaw is that the city's crime rate decreased with the simple knowledge that the entire community was armed.

The bad guys didn't force the residents to prove it. Just knowing that residents were armed prompted them to move on to easier targets. Most criminals don't have a death wish. There have been two occasions in my own family when the presence of a handgun averted potential disaster. In both instances the gun was never aimed at a person and no shot was fired. Yet, in both cases the thugs bent on criminal mischief decided to take their ambitions elsewhere and my family remained safe. Only God knows what would have happened if a firearm had not been handy.

Yes, there are times when gun accidents occur. There are many more accidents involving automobiles, airplanes, bathroom shower stalls and backyard swimming pools, however. And let's not forget that freedom is risky business. Freedom allows people to make mistakes recognizing that the alternative is worse.

A local newspaper columnist recently said that other nations are free without possessing firearms. He fails to see the obvious fact that people who are not free to own firearms are not free. Many people live their entire lives and never know a day of real freedom. And, while I'm sure that there are those who would choose to live without freedom, there are some of us who would rather die free than live enslaved.

[guysdigdirt]

Guns should be allowed in all places of worship. Let 'em blast each other until there's only one left standing. Then we get him for murder and be done with the whole deluded lot.
Posted by iDragon13

you really need to talk to a psychologist or perhaps a psychiatrist. I'm off the clock but i can refer to someone if you need me to.
Posted by biger-e

Very accurate diagnosis biger-e, but this person may be beyond help.

[guysdigdirt]

when people start getting killed by their hybred cars i hope that they ban hybred cars.
Posted by biger-e at 10:29 AM :

I've never hear of a hybred car going off while someone was cleaning it....
Posted by dragonwagon5

If everything that goes off when it is getting cleaned is outlawed there will be a lot of unhappy teenage boys out there.

[guysdigdirt]

They should at least take a stab at it.....
Posted by dragonwagon5

Always appreciate the humor dragon, keep it coming.

[NotRedNotBlue]

My next door neighbor wants to ban all guns. Their house is not armed. To respect their opinion, I promise not to use my guns to protect them ;-) But seriously folks, teach your toddlers and children: If you see a gun: STOP! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult. Then, when they get to the age where you feel they are ready to learn to handle firearms, teach them RULE #1 - Treat all guns as if they are loaded. RULE #2 - Never let the muzzle of a gun point at anything you do not want to destroy or kill. RULE #3 - Keep your finger off the trigger until you have acquired your target and you are ready to fire & RULE #4 - Be absolutely sure of your target, and what's behind it. My 7 year old son can quote (and execute) the rules and he can hit a used 8" paper plate (recycling is cheaper than buying fancy targets) at 50 yards. Of course HIS guns stay locked up - mine stays on my belt.

[NotRedNotBlue]

2005 US gun related deaths = 18,000; heart disease deaths = 667,000. So if you are overweight, out of shape and you eat fast food just remember that you're 37 times more likely to die from a heart attack than from a gun shot wound. Perhaps we should outlaw fast food eh?

[biger-e]

when people start getting killed by their hybred cars i hope that they ban hybred cars.

[biger-e]

Guns should be allowed in all places of worship. Let 'em blast each other until there's only one left standing. Then we get him for murder and be done with the whole deluded lot.
Posted by iDragon13

you really need to talk to a psychologist or perhaps a psychiatrist. I'm off the clock but i can refer to someone if you need me to.

[iDragon13]

Guns should be allowed in all places of worship. Let 'em blast each other until there's only one left standing. Then we get him for murder and be done with the whole deluded lot.

[biger-e]

Glocks also jam easy from "limp wristing" as they are so light.