Court records show that the man suspected of walking into a service at an Atlanta-area megachurch and gunning down a church volunteer leading a prayer was committed eight years ago to a psychiatric hospital after a violent incident in Maryland. (Photo Courtesy of aurealius via Flickr.)
Police say former church worker, 51-year-old Floyd Palmer, entered a chapel at the Rev. Creflo Dollar's World Changers Church International just before 10 a.m. Wednesday and opened fire, killing 39-year-old church volunteer Greg McDowell. Palmer was arrested later in the day.
Court records show a man named Floyd Lester Palmer, born on the same day in 1960, was charged in Baltimore in 2001 with attempted murder, assault and handgun charges. He was committed to a psychiatric hospital in 2004 after pleading not criminally responsible to lesser charges. The records show he was released the next year.
World Changers Church International is one of the nation's largest. It's located in College Park, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. Police said the church's founder and leader, the Rev. Creflo Dollar, was not at the church at the time of the shooting.
