🔥🕊️ Armed Man Threatens Florida Church During Sunday Service

GOOD MORNING.

Over the July 4 weekend, flash floods swept through Central Texas, claiming over 100 lives — including dozens of young women attending a Christian summer camp. Camp Mystic, a place once filled with laughter, worship, and sisterhood, became ground zero for one of the deadliest inland floods in U.S. history.

As the waters rose faster than warnings could spread, families were torn apart and entire communities left grieving. Today, we mourn with those who mourn, we lift up every family shattered by this loss, and we hold fast to the hope that even in devastation, God is near to the brokenhearted.

This week, let’s pray, give, and stand ready to be the hands and feet of Christ in the days of rebuilding ahead.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Terrifying Encounter During Sunday Service

On Sunday, July 6, 2025, worshippers at Manantial de Vida Church in Naples, Florida, narrowly avoided tragedy when 23-year-old Angel Antonio Arreguin entered the church lobby armed with a loaded handgun and 60 rounds of 9mm ammunition. The man reportedly claimed to be a “trained killer” and asked church staff how much it would cost to stop a mass shooting. His chilling statements were made during an active service at the Golden Gate Parkway congregation, placing dozens of lives at risk.

Swift and Brave Response by Church Staff

Despite the threat, church employees remained calm and coordinated their response discreetly. One staff member engaged Arreguin in conversation to buy time, while another quietly evacuated children from nearby rooms. Others contacted authorities without alarming the congregation. Thanks to their quick thinking, law enforcement arrived promptly, disarmed Arreguin—who had a round chambered in the gun—and took him into custody around 12:30 p.m. No shots were fired, and no injuries were reported.

Legal Action and Community Response

Following the arrest, Arreguin was charged with two felony counts related to making threats to discharge a destructive device and one misdemeanor for disorderly conduct. He was also placed under a mental health evaluation under Florida’s Baker Act and is permanently banned from the church premises. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office commended the church staff and deputies for their composed and courageous actions, noting that their efforts “likely prevented a violent confrontation.” The congregation has since resumed services, expressing gratitude for their safety and the decisive actions that ensured it.

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REGIONAL THREATS

AFRICA

• ACCRA, GHANA - A fire broke out at the Police Church within the Jubilee House area on July 10, 2025. Firefighters contained the blaze in 21 minutes, preventing injuries and preserving most of the building; only choir robes, AC units, and office equipment were damaged, and the cause is under investigation.

• ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST - In the early hours between July 7 and 8, 2025, a group of at least five masked and heavily armed individuals forcibly entered a church in Cocody—part of the Notre-Dame de Cocody complex on Route du Zoo—detaining security staff and searching the premises. Their failure to steal anything suggests the motive was intimidation, specifically targeting Bishop Jean‑François Comoé, first Vice‑President of the Pentecostal and Evangelical Bishops’ Conference (CEPE‑CI).

• WARRAP STATE, SOUTH SUDAN – During a worship service on July 5, 2025, a mob reportedly organized by a local chief violently attacked a Seventh‑day Adventist congregation at an outdoor church in Turalei Payam. The assailants beat congregants—including the pastor, church landlord, and at least 11 others—hospitalizing them, and then set the church building ablaze and looted property including goats.

• MAKURDI, NIGERIA – Suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked St. Ignatius Catholic Church during early-morning mass, killing 18 people including two priests and burning over 60 homes, in what President Buhari condemned as a “satanic” act threatening religious stability.

• BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE – The body of 24‑year‑old Prince Ndlovu was discovered on July 4, 2025, on a dirt road adjacent to the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) Church in the Njube suburb, bearing three stab wounds to the head, chest, and shoulder.

• PEMBA, MOZAMBIQUE – Eighteen armed men attacked a Catholic girls’ home run by Mercedarian Sisters on June 8, 2025, threatening the nuns and looting valuables. No one was injured, but the incident has raised alarm over rising insecurity in Cabo Delgado.

• KATSINA, NIGERIA – Armed bandits attacked Bege Baptist Church on July 7, 2025, killing Pastor Emmanuel Na’allah and a congregant, and abducting a female worshipper.

MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA

• TAYBEH, WEST BANK – Jewish settlers attacked the Christian village of Taybeh on July 7–8, 2025, vandalizing a Byzantine cemetery and setting fires near St. George Church. Local clergy have called for an international investigation amid rising settler violence targeting Christian sites.

SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIA

• TELANGANA, INDIA – Police seized a cache of explosives near the Calvary Church on July 6, 2025, after acting on a tip-off. The haul included seven packets of XL detonators (15 units each) and ten EL detonators.

• TANGKIL, INDONESIA – On June 27, 2025, a mob of 200 stormed a private home hosting a Christian youth retreat, vandalizing property and evicting attendees over claims it lacked worship status. Authorities have arrested eight suspects, and the governor has ordered an investigation and reparations.

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN

• ACAPULCO, MÉXICO – A taxi was found abandoned on the night of July 7, 2025, in Colonia La Sábana, parked in front of an evangelical church, with the bodies of a man and a woman discovered inside the trunk.

• MEXICALI, MEXICO – A Christian church on Bugambilias Street in the Progreso neighborhood was reportedly robbed on July 7, 2025. Authorities later arrested an 18-year-old armed with a knife who is suspected of involvement in the incident; the case is under investigation by the state prosecutor’s office.

• VILLAHERMOSA, MEXICO – The State Attorney General’s Office has linked the armed shooting of Father Héctor Alejandro Pérez at San Francisco de Asís parish on June 30, 2025, to a separate shooting that nearly cost a state police officer his life in Gaviotas Sur, based on forensic and intelligence evidence under investigation.

NORTH AMERICA

• CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA – A lightning strike during severe storms ignited a fire at the rectory of St. Basil the Great Parish. The blaze caused structural damage but no injuries were reported.

• LIBERTY, OHIO – Late Saturday evening, unknown gunmen unleashed a barrage of approximately 60 shots onto the church’s outdoor basketball court, shattering backboards and scattering terrified congregants. According to police, witnesses reported seeing 10–15 people fleeing into nearby woods after the gunfire began just before 9 p.m., though no injuries have been confirmed.

• WICHITA, KANSAS – James Giovanni Lee Sawyer has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Daniel McPherson in a church parking lot during a robbery, marking a tragic incident of violence at a place of worship.

• COLUMBUS, OHIO – City of Grace Church, a cornerstone of community outreach, has been burglarized twice in recent weeks. Both incidents saw thieves steal HVAC units, disrupting operations and leaving the congregation reeling.

EUROPE

• YEREVAN, ARMENIA – Security forces raided churches and arrested two senior archbishops, Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikayel Ajapahyan, accusing them of plotting a coup against Prime Minister Pashinyan. The crackdown signals escalating tensions between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

• GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, GERMANY – A man attempted to set multiple altars on fire inside St. Martin Church on July 5, 2025, but quick action by visitors prevented major damage. The suspect injured three people while resisting arrest and has since been placed in psychiatric detention on suspicion of arson.

• VÄSTERÅS, SWEDEN – Authorities suspect a Russian Orthodox church near Västerås Airport is being used as a covert intelligence outpost. With limited religious activity, surveillance equipment, and ties to Russian state-linked entities, the site is under investigation by Swedish security services as part of broader concerns about Russian espionage in Europe.

AUSTRALIA & OCEANIA

• No current updates.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Our hearts are heavy as we lift up the people of Texas. For every life lost, we ask Your comfort. Surround grieving families with Your peace that surpasses understanding.

We pray for those still missing—guide the hands and eyes of rescue teams, and bring swift and safe recoveries. Strengthen the first responders who are working around the clock. Grant them endurance, wisdom, and protection.

For the communities left in ruin, we ask for healing. Let the Church rise in compassion. Let neighbors become family. Let Your presence be felt in the midst of loss.

And Lord, even now, we trust in Your goodness. Let this be a moment where light shines in the darkness.

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