Thread: Micronesian - Suspect Charged in Mo. Church Shootings

Suspect Charged in Mo. Church Shootings
Gunman in Mo. Church Charged With Murder, Accused of Killing 3 Elders of Congregation

By MARCUS KABEL
The Associated Press
NEOSHO, Mo.


Prosecutors filed murder charges Monday against a man accused of opening fire on a Micronesian congregation as dozens of people worshipped in a church.

Prosecutors also charged the man, Eiken Elam Saimon, who is 52 and also Micronesian, with assault, armed criminal action and felonious restraint for holding the congregation hostage.

Police and prosecutors declined at a news conference the discuss a motive for the Sunday afternoon attack, but Newton County Prosecutor Scott Watson told The Associated Press earlier that the alleged gunman had targeted the congregation's leaders.

"I think that you'll find that the victims were what some would term elders or leaders (of the Micronesian congregation)," Watson said. "As information continues to come forward, it appears that the shots that were fired were not random."

He said the victims were not friends or relatives of the gunman. It wasn't immediately clear if Saimon was a member of the congregation.

Saimon was being held Monday on $5 million bond and was to be arraigned in Newton County Circuit Court. He also is a suspect in the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old female relative on Saturday, Watson said.

The gunman opened fire after ordering children out of the sanctuary of First Congregational Church, which the Micronesian congregation uses for its services.

Police said the shooting followed an altercation Saturday night between the suspect and a family that belonged to the congregation. It wasn't clear if the family had been in the sanctuary during the attack.

"This was a tragedy as far as those killed and injured but it could have been a lot worse," said Neosho Police Chief Dave McCracken.

McCracken said the gunman had two small-caliber handguns and a semi-automatic machine pistol, and he briefly held 25 to 50 people hostage before surrendering after about 10 minutes of negotiation.

Police released the identify of one of the victims: Kernal Rehobson, 44, of Goodman, who was the pastor of the congregation.

The other two victims were men who were church elders, McCracken said. Their names were not released because relatives were still being notified.

He said police were told that the five wounded people, all adults, would recover.

During the 1990s, thousands of Micronesians emigrated from their Pacific island nations to southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas, drawn by plentiful jobs in the poultry and manufacturing industries.

Unlike other immigrants who settled in the area, Micronesians can live and work in the United States without getting visas because of their home countries' unique relationship with the United States.

Island nations throughout the Pacific fell under U.S. control after the area was wrested from Japanese control after World War II. The nations were run as colonial outposts called trust territories. When countries like The Federated States of Micronesia gained independence in the 1980s, they entered pacts with the United States that gave Micronesians the right to live and work in the United States.

Micronesians were drawn to small towns like Neosho and Springdale, Ark., because of the low cost of living and the ever-growing presence of other Micronesians. The immigrants formed tightly knit communities with their own churches, general stores and community events. About 200 Micronesians live in the Neosho area.

Rehobson led the group of Micronesians for about 15 years and ran a Micronesian store out of his house in Goodman, said Larry Zuniga, 42, who worked with Rehobson at Wal-Mart.

The congregants used to meet at Rehobson's house and were using the First Congregational Church for worship while they searched for a permanent home, Zuniga said.



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