The Daingerfield church shooting was a
mass murder that occurred at the First Baptist Church in
Daingerfield, Texas
Daingerfield is a city and the county seat of Morris County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,560 at the 2010 census.
The bluegrass instrumental tune Old Dangerfield by Bill Monroe was named after the town of Daingerfield.
Geography
D ...
, United States on June 22, 1980. Alvin Lee King III, 45, a former high school teacher, armed with an
M1 carbine
The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...
, two
revolvers
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six ro ...
, and a
scoped, semi-automatic AR-15-type derivative, killed five people and wounded 10 others, after members of the church had declined his request to appear as character witnesses in a trial in which he was charged with raping his daughter. King was arrested after shooting himself and charged with five counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder, but committed suicide in his prison cell on January 19, 1982, before he could be tried.
"This Is War!"
''Time'' (July 7, 1980)[Five die in church shooting](_blank)
''Spokane Daily Chronicle'' (June 23, 1980)[Blood of the Lamb](_blank)
''Texas Monthly'' (March 1983)
Victims
* Gene Gandy, 50
In popular culture
Faith Under Fire
' (2012)
'' Law & Order'', Season 1, Episode 18 - "The Secret Sharers" (1991)
See also
* List of shootings in Texas
* Sutherland Springs church shooting
The Sutherland Springs church shooting occurred on November 5, 2017, when Devin Patrick Kelley, of New Braunfels, Texas, perpetrated a mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Kelley killed 26 people, wounded 22 ...
* Anti-Christian Sentiment
References
External links
How A Small Texas Town Coped With A 1980 Church Shooting (HBO)1980 Church Shooting In Daingerfield, TX , Jay Gormley35th anniversary of Daingerfield church shootingSurvivors reflects on Daingerfield church shooting 40 years laterLaverne McDaniel Interview-Daingerfield church shooting 1980Shattered SanctuaryNEVER FORGOTTEN: Survivors reflect on Daingerfield church shooting 40 years later1980 Daingerfield Church shootingTargeting faith
{{Mass shootings in the United States in the 1980s and before
1980 in Texas
Mass murder in Texas
Mass murder in 1980
1980 murders in the United States
1980 mass shootings in the United States
Deaths by firearm in Texas
1980s crimes in Texas
Morris County, Texas
1980 crimes
June 1980 events
June 1980 events in the United States
Mass shootings in Texas
Mass shootings in the United States
Attacks on religious buildings and structures in the United States
Attacks on churches in North America
Mass shootings involving AR-15–style rifles