Idaho Pastor Shot Outside Church On Sunday Had Prayed At Ted Cruz Rally Saturday [Updated] Suspect Identified
A pastor was shot four times in the parking lot of his Church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Sunday. The shooting happened in the early afternoon. Just before 2:00 p.m., local police were called to the scene at The Altar Church, where according to law enforcement officials, they found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The victim, who was later identified by a family member as Tim Remington, 55, the pastor at the church, was immediately transported to Kootenai Medical Center, the local hospital.
Local news station KREM reports that the Idaho pastor was shot four times in the back while on the way to his car. When EMS arrived on the scene, he was alive and speaking to first responders; the pastor reportedly continued to be communicative on his way to the hospital. He is currently listed in critical condition.
Remington has been the pastor of The Altar Church for over 10 years, and on Sunday afternoon, after the shooting, several members of the congregation gathered to pray. The group was praying not just for their pastor who had been shot, but also for the gunman who critically injured him, according to reports from the scene.
“We just want to be here for everyone in our congregation. Be here for our pastor. We are going to go to the hospital and wait for the word to make sure he is okay. He opens his home to people. He takes them in and lets them live in his home. All the people society has turned their backs on, he reaches out to them.”
Parishioners praying through tears @KHQLocalNews pic.twitter.com/R5jtNbKaiT
— Katie Chen (@katie_chen_) March 6, 2016
The suspected shooter fled the scene after shooting the pastor repeatedly in the back, according to local police. At this time, the suspect has not been identified or apprehended and is still at large. NBC News reports that an associate pastor, who apparently witnessed the assault on pastor Remington, described the gunman as being tall, perhaps a little over six feet, with curly, short blond hair, glasses, and a slim build.
Authorities in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, are still on the scene where the pastor was shot and are likely to remain there for several more hours, according to reports.
Tim Remington, the Idaho pastor shot outside of his own church this afternoon, is also reportedly a prominent conservative political spokesman in Idaho, and he delivered the opening prayer for GOP presidential hopeful, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the day before he was shot multiple times. Senator Cruz was visiting Idaho on Saturday and held a rally at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
A spokesperson for the Cruz campaign issued a statement to NBC News regarding the shooting of the Idaho pastor, indicating that the campaign’s prayers are with him, his family, and the medical personnel seeing to his care at this time.
“We pray for his full recovery and are thankful for the efforts of law enforcement to ensure the attacker is swiftly brought to justice.”
The Idaho pastor grew up in Coeur d’Alene, a northern Idaho city. Prior to starting his minstery at The Altar Church, a church which he founded, Remington was reportedly the pastor of a California church in the 80’s. During his time in California, he also founded a street ministry, which focused on evangelizing to those struggling with addiction.
Pastor Remington returned to his home in the Idaho panhandle just under two decades ago, and it was then that he started The Altar Church. In addition to his work as pastor of The Altar Church, Tim Remmington also founded the Good Samaritan Rehabilitation treatment program, a residential program for drug and alcohol addicts. The pastor and his wife, Cindy, are the parents of four.
Social media offers an update of the Idaho pastor’s current condition, and it appears he is expected to survive the attack.
Since news of the shooting broke earlier this afternoon, Twitter has also lit up with prayer requests for the Idaho pastor who was shot in the back.
***Update***
The Chicago Tribune reports that a suspect has been identified in the shooting of Idaho Pastor Tim Remington.
On Monday morning, local authorities identified 30-year-old Kyle Andrew Odom as the suspected gunman in the case. Odom, a former U.S. Marine, remains at large and a manhunt is underway. The suspect is considered armed and dangerous, according to a police statement.
The police department released the following photos of Andrew Odom and the vehicle he reportedly used to escape the scene of the crime.
At this point, no motive has been confirmed, and investigators are looking into whether or not the Idaho pastor was shot due to his participation in the Ted Cruz rally on Saturday.
[Image Courtesy Of @RavenHUWolf/Twitter]
