(Image: Screenshot/Redoubt News/YouTube)
A pastor in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho was senselessly shot in his own church’s parking lot after the Sunday morning service at Altar Church, just one day after delivering the invocation at a rally for GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz.
The coincidental timing is leading some to believe that was the motivation for the shooting. CNN reported on Tuesday morning that authorities have said the attack on Pastor Tim Remington was a “pre-planned attack.”
A suspect has been identified in the case. According to KXLY, based in Spokane, Wash., police were said to be looking for 30-year-old Kyle Andrew Odom of Coeur d’Alene as of late Sunday night.
Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said on Monday, “I will tell you that some details surrounding Mr. Odom's planning are disturbing.”
Remington is expected to survive despite being shot as many as six times, according to parishioners. However, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department could not confirm how many times Remington was shot, though security cameras are said to have captured the incident.
White said that authorities are not sure if the shooting is connected to Remington's delivery of the opening prayer at the Ted Cruz rally the day before.
“He's introducing the Bible and Jesus Christ to so many lost souls around here that it's just, I can't believe that someone would even think of doing something like this to him," said parishioner Kevin Baurele.
KXLY reported that fellow Altar Church Outreach pastor Josh Padula said Remington suffered a shattered pelvis, a skull fracture, a broken arm and a punctured lung during the attack.
As of Monday, the news is good for Remington as all of the bullets have been removed, and he had been updated to stable condition at Kootenai Medical Center.