Woman Carrying A Handgun And A Baby Threatens To Blow Up Church
According to San Diego Police, church members during an Easter Sunday service tackled a woman with a baby who was carrying a handgun after she threatened to blow up the church, CNN reports. She was later identified as 31-year-old Anna Conkey.
Police arrived within minutes of the initial call and took Conkey into custody without incident, the department said in a statement.
Conkey reportedly walked onto the auditorium stage and was waving a handgun while making threats that she was going to blow up the church.
“She was saying stuff that was kind of delusional. I was more worried about getting my family out of there,” said Ronald Farmer who was attending the service with his family at the time of the incident.
Those in attendance were able to successfully take the baby from Conkey’s arms and remove the gun from her possession before knocking her to the ground, according to Delmitros.
As a precautionary measure, a bomb-sniffing dog was brought in to sweep the building as well as Conkey’s vehicle, police said. It was later determined that the gun was not loaded and there was no evidence of a bomb anywhere on the premises. Another child, the suspect’s 5-year-old daughter, was found unharmed and taken into protective custody along with the baby.
CONTINUING NEWS:
We are learning more about the gun/bomb threat that happened at the church in Clairemont today. The suspect is ANNA CONKEY. The baby boy was… https://t.co/LeFVQbMxMf
— Rina Nakano (@RinaNakanoTV) April 22, 2019
San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said that the department was increasing the number of patrols this Easter Sunday in response to the coordinated attacks on Christian churches as well as luxury hotels in Sri Lanka.
“At this time, there is nothing to indicate a connection to San Diego. However, in an abundance of caution, you will see extra patrols at houses of worship,” he had said previously on Twitter.
At least 207 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in Sri Lanka through what was apparently a coordinated series of suicide bombings targeting Christian churches and luxury hotels, as The Inquisitr reported.
Targets included three Christian churches in the midst of their Easter services and three hotels, some known to be frequented by Western tourists. Officials have estimated that in addition to the deaths counted so far, at least 450 were wounded.
“Attacks on innocent people gathering in a place of worship or enjoying a holiday meal are affronts to the universal values and freedoms that we hold dear, and demonstrate yet again the brutal nature of radical terrorists whose sole aim is to threaten peace and security,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
