Reverend Raj 'Arul' Balaswamy Carasala was fatally shot at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca, Kansas, by Gary Hermesch, who lived in Tulsa but had local ties. The incident occurred while fourth-graders were nearby, highlighting the shocking nature of the violence. After committing the crime, Hermesch surrendered to authorities at a local police station. Though he was charged with first-degree murder, a motive remains unclear. Residents described Hermesch as a loner, who had previously sent bizarre letters criticizing the church's modernization and making strange political comparisons.
A beloved small-town priest was gunned down at a Catholic church in Kansas Thursday afternoon by an unhinged Oklahoma gunman - just steps from where young students were playing outside the parish's nearby school.
Local Jim Runnebaum also told the KC Star that the suspect also used to send in "kind of off-the-wall" letters to a local newspaper, bashing the Catholic church because it became too modern.
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