PITTSBURGH
(AP) -- Police say an elementary school music teacher shot his ex-wife
while she played the organ during a Sunday church service, then returned
moments later to shoot her again and ensure she was dead before
congregants stopped and grabbed him.
Those details are contained in a criminal complaint filed Monday against 52-year-old Gregory Eldred, of Coudersport.
He's
jailed without bond on first-degree murder and other charges stemming
from the shooting at the First United Presbyterian Church of
Coudersport, about 140 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
That's
where Eldred's ex-wife, 53-year-old Darlene Sitler, was playing the
organ when she was shot about 20 minutes into the service.
Court
papers indicate the pastor and two other worshippers confronted and
stopped Eldred, who allegedly threatened to shoot them, but didn't.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
An
elementary school music teacher walked into a church in the middle of
Sunday services and shot and killed his ex-wife as she sat in a pew,
police said.
Gregory Eldred, 52, of
Coudersport, has been charged with first-degree murder, accused of twice
shooting Darlene Sitler, 53, at the First United Presbyterian Church,
where she served as organist and choir director. It wasn't immediately
clear if she was serving in those capacities when she was shot.
Witnesses
told police they saw Eldred pacing outside the 180-year-old church
before the service and that other members of the congregation grabbed
Eldred after the shooting around 11:20 a.m., and held him until police
arrived. Nobody else was injured.
The defense attorney listed in online court records did not immediately return a call for comment Monday.
Trooper
Michael Knight told the Bradford Era newspaper on Sunday that Eldred
allegedly walked down the church's middle aisle and fired two shots at
Sitler.
Trooper Knight told the newspaper
there were no children in the church when the shooting happened, but
that police bused all those who witnessed the shooting to a building
which houses Potter County offices so they could be interviewed by
police.
Potter County Commissioner Susan Kefover told the newspaper the shooting was "devastatingly tragic for the community."
"It's hard to even comprehend it. You just feel this tremendous grief and you're trying to process what happened," Kefover said.
In
addition to her church duties, Sitler taught music at the Northern
Potter Children's School, an elementary school that neighbors the
district where her ex-husband taught, for 30 years.
"She's
just the consummate professional," Northern Potter Superintendent Scott
Graham told The Associated Press on Monday. "The kids loved her. She
just did so many things here for the school and the community."
The
Northern Potter School District is based in the tiny borough of
Ulysses, very near the New York border. It's about 20 miles northeast of
Coudersport, where her ex-husband taught school and she attended
church, Graham said.
Sitler taught music to
all students in the Pre-K through 6th-grade school, and also headed the
chorus and band for 5th and 6th graders. She's taught at the district
since 1982, so the staff and students throughout the district knew her
well, Graham said.
Crisis counselors from surrounding districts and a member of the local pastors' ministerium were at the district Monday.
"There's
a lot of good things about growing up and living in a small community,
and I believe we have a lot of help for the children and the staff
members who may need it," Graham said.
Graham said the couple had been divorced for several years and offered no rationale for the shooting.
Superintendent
Alanna Huck, who heads the Coudersport Area School District where
Eldred taught since 1986, issued a statement expressing condolences to
Sitler's family and school district.
"There
are no words that explain this event, however we will focus on moving
forward and taking care of those students who are entrusted to our care
each day," the statement said.
Eldred also played clarinet for the Southern Tier Symphony Orchestra in Allegany, N.Y.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
