Two gunmen ran to the steps of a Chicago church Sunday morning and murdered a father of three and a church visitor.
Emmanuel Fleming, 34, served as an usher at South Baptist Church, and Michael Swift, 46, was visiting the church for the day, according to The Chicago Tribune. The attack happened at approximately 11:15 a.m. when Fleming was walking up the steps to the church. As the gunmen approached, Fleming yelled for his children to run into the church to take cover.
“They were on their way up the steps to the church, and two gentlemen ran up from Jackson (Boulevard) and basically unloaded on them,” Rev. Reginald Bachus told the Tribune.
“It’s just hard for me to believe that something like this could happen on a Sunday morning,” Bachus added. “Two young men on their way to church … I think that’s the hardest part for me to grasp.”
After killing Fleming and Swift, the two gunmen then entered the church, the congregation of which was mid-hymn.
“Everyone hit the floor, even the kids. It’s a shame the kids know how to hit the floor like that, but it’s a good thing they did,” a church member said.
The two unidentified gunmen successfully fled the scene in a silver or gray SUV, and the Chicago Police Department has launched a full investigation.
Fleming was pronounced dead at to the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, according to abc7. Swift was taken to the Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was also pronounced dead.
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