FALLON, Nev. (AP) — Police in the northern Nevada city of Fallon were trying to determine Monday (July 23) why a gunman walked into a Mormon church on Sunday and opened fire, killing one man and injuring another.
Fallon Police Chief Kevin Gehman said it does not appear that the suspect, 48-year-old John Kelley O’Connor, was targeting the church but that he instead was focused on an individual victim.
Charles E. Miller, 61, was killed and another man, whose identity has not been released, was treated and released from the hospital after being shot in the leg, authorities said.
After the shooting, O’Connor walked to his home around the corner from the church. Police and sheriff’s deputies surrounded his home. A hostage negotiator spoke to O’Connor over the phone, and the man agreed to exit and surrender, police said.
Police did not have additional details on a possible motive Sunday night but planned to give updates at a news conference Monday morning.
O’Connor was being held Monday at the Churchill County Jail but had not yet been formally charged.
There were about 50 people in the church at the time of the shooting.
Fallon, which is about 60 miles east of Reno, has a population of about 8,700 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.