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Indiana Pastor Shot to Death in His Church

A Southport, Indiana pastor was shot to death while he worked on his sermon in his church office last Saturday. According to IndyStar.com, Jaman Iseminger was killed when a woman with a gun allegedly entered Bethel Community Church at seven in the morning, asked for the pastor by name, and proceeded to his office where she shot him. The pastor died later at a local hospital. Police Chief Randy Ellison called the incident “one of the most bizarre he’s ever seen.”

“I’ve never seen anything where a minister is killed in his own church,” Ellison said. “It’s just a tragedy in every sense of the word.”

A suspect has been arrested and charged with the murder: Lori Ann Barcroft, 46. It is still unclear as to why Barcroft targeted Iseminger. She herself does not attend the church, but her son does. A volunteer working on the grounds of the church that morning saw Barcroft running from the scene; police later found her hiding in some brush and carrying a gun.

The church held services last Sunday with a fellow minister delivering the sermon that Iseminger had written. Interestingly, the topic of the sermon was “building a revolution through tragedy.”

“That’s just the way he was,” a board member said of Iseminger. “He would’ve wanted us to continue to move forward and keep the church alive.”

Barcroft is being held in isolation at the Marion County Jail and was appeared in court yesterday morning, where her son claims she suffers from mental illness and possibly schizophrenia. The report from a local television station says Barcroft has admitted to shooting Iseminger.