ABBEVILLE, La. (KADN) — St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville was evacuated during a Mass Saturday after a suspicious person opened the back door of the church. The person was later taken into custody by police.
A livestream on the church’s website shows 48 minutes into the service, a man approached Fr. Nicholas G. Dupré on the altar and whispered something into his ear. Fr. Dupré paused and told everyone to be seated. He then started praying the Hail Mary.
Moments later, people could be seen getting up from their seats and looking toward the back of the church. What happened is not visible from the church’s livestream.
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ABBEVILLE, La. (KADN) — A tragedy was narrowly avoided at an Abbeville church this weekend, where a teen, dressed in black and armed with a rifle, was stopped by parishioners from getting inside where dozens of children were making their First Communion.
St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville was evacuated during a Mass Saturday over some sort of threat. A livestream on the church’s website shows 48 minutes into the service, a man approached the priest on the altar and whispered something into his ear.
The chaos unfolded as 60 children were set to make their First Communion.
“First Communion was proceeding as normal and then police came in with their guns drawn,” said Liz Touchet, who was attending the Mass. “People started running to get their kids and we were told to get down.”
Video from the church’s livestream shows altar servers running, and clergy crouching behind the altar. After a few minutes, someone could be heard telling the crowd, “We did apprehend a young man. He is in custody. Calm down and get next to your child and just go slowly.”
The church later released the following message:
“Dear Parishioners,
This morning, our First Communion ceremony was interrupted when a suspicious person opened the back door. The individual was immediately confronted by parishioners, escorted outside and the police were called. The individual was quickly apprehended by Abbeville Police Department and is in their custody. Once apprehended, law enforcement entered the church to make sure there was no additional danger. This understandably caused panic. While we realize this was a frightening experience for those in attendance, we are incredibly grateful to both parishioners and police officers for acting quickly to ensure the safety of all. Chief Mike Hardy is handling the investigation with cooperation of the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s office and assistance from the FBI. Out of an abundance of caution, we will have uniformed law enforcement at all upcoming Masses. We invite First Communicants to receive First Holy Communion at whichever Mass they choose to attend this weekend. We are grateful for all the prayers for our St. Mary Magdalen community.”
Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel also released a statement concerning the incident that occurred during First Holy Communion Mass at St. Magdalen Church.
“We are thankful to God that a tragedy was avoided at the First Communion Mass for the children of St. Mary Magdalen in Abbeville. The quick response of the Abbeville Police Department and alert parishioners is a great example of caring for the most vulnerable in our community. Let us pray for an end to all threats of violence to innocent human life.”