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A Catholic priest was found stabbed to death inside the church rectory during an invasion before Sunday Mass.
Reverend Stephen Gutgsell, 65, was attacked during a break-in at St John the Baptist church in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska.
Gutgsell called 911 around 5am and said someone was trying to break into the rectory. Deputies arrived at the scene six minutes later and found the priest with stab wounds.
He was rushed to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, where he was pronounced dead.
‘A lot of people learned about death of Father Gutgsell when they showed up for Mass,’ church deacon Jerry Mapes told the Omaha World-Herald on Monday, ‘And found the church circled with police crime tape.’
The regular 8.30am Mass was canceled.
A parishioner, Mike Fitzgerald, said he got a call early Sunday about Gutgsell, who had been with the church for 11 years.
‘I thought he was a very holy man,’ Fitzgerald told the newspaper.
‘He did a lot of things for the community. He always made sure that the bulletin had everything in it that we needed to know about things going on at the church.’
Cops arrested Kierre Williams, 43, of Sioux City, Iowa, at the scene, on suspicion of homicide and using a weapon to commit a felony, said Washington County Sheriff Mike Robinson. Formal charges around the crime were not filed as of Monday afternoon. Williams’ initial court appearance may take place on Tuesday.
The Archdiocese of Omaha stated: ‘Please join Archbishop George Lucas in prayer for the repose of Father Gutgsell, for his family and for the St. John the Baptist parish community in this tragic time.’
A vigil for Gutgsell was held on Sunday night.
‘A real gut punch,’ Everett Kingrey told KETV. ‘Something you don’t expect… Especially here in a small town, but you know, terrible.’
Fort Calhoun is about 15 miles north of Omaha. It is the second homicide in Fort Calhoun since August 14, when Linda Childers, 71, was found dead in her home after a home invasion.
Gutgsell’s death comes more than after a synagogue president was found stabbed dead outside her home in Detroit, Michigan.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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