Holy hell!
Prayer service at a church in Washington state quickly turned chaotic after a man rushed the altar and sucker-punched a priest in a frightening attack.
Father David Gaines, the parochial vicar at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, was kneeling at the altar beside Bishop Thomas Daly during a mass service on Tuesday when a man charged toward Gaines and threw a punch at him.
The disturbed church-goer, identified as Joshua James Sommers, was arrested and booked by the Spokane Police Department on several assault charges, according to KXLY.
‘I must say, all of us were pretty shaken,’ Rector Father Darrin Connall, who had been leading the prayer when the bizarre attack unfolded, told KXLY.
‘You don’t expect to see something like that when we gather to pray and worship.’
At around 6:30pm on Tuesday, nearly 400 worshippers had packed the cathedral for the second night of The Lourdes Novena for Healing, a series of nine consecutive days of prayers, KREM2 reported.
Video footage from the mass, which was livestreamed to Facebook, captured both Gaines and Daly kneeling beside each other as Connall led a prayer of thanks around 40 minutes into the service.
Livestream footage from a mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, Washington, captured the shocking moment a church-goer rushed and punched Father David Gaines in the face
The shocking attack unfolded on the second night of The Lourdes Novena for Healing, a series of nine consecutive days of prayers
Father David Gaines was kneeling at the altar beside Bishop Thomas Daly when a man who was later identified as Joshua James Sommers sprung out of his seat and rushed toward the priest
Seconds later, the shocking footage captured Sommers springing out of his seat in a first-row pew and rushing toward Gaines.
The priest, who quickly got to his feet, held his hands up for a moment before Sommers swung.
Connall immediately stopped the prayer after the sudden blow and appeared to look around in utter confusion.
‘I thought it was kind of that situation where the guy was just running in the sanctuary,’ Connall told KXLY.
‘But clearly it had the potential to be much more violent, and in that sense, much more scary,’ he added. ‘It took me awhile to realize that this was pretty serious.’
Gaines was seen getting on top of Sommers to subdue him.
One of the microphones picked up a voice saying: ‘It’s okay buddy, it’s all right, it’s okay, just calm down.’
From there, the pair wrestled for several seconds. Sommers was heard groaning as others rushed to the altar to help.
On the night of Tuesday’s attack, nearly 400 worshippers had packed into the cathedral for the second day of consecutive prayers
Gaines, who is the parochial vicar at the church, got on top of Sommers to subdue him during the incident
Moments before the attack, the livestream captured Rector Father Darrin Connall leading a prayer of thanks around 40 minutes into the service
As witnesses crowded around the agitated man, Connall called for security as Sommers’ unintelligible yells continued to echo throughout the church.
Sommers was eventually cuffed by security led out of the cathedral with the help of several people in attendance.
Connall then returned to his position at the altar and resumed the service, adding a prayer for Sommers.
‘Right after they escorted him out, we all prayed for him,’ Connall said.
‘We just stopped the service and prayed for him, because again, whatever demons he was struggling with need to be healed.’
At the conclusion of the mass, Connall thanked those who ‘stormed the sanctuary’ to help and informed church-goers that Sommers had been arrested and charged with assault and trespassing.
Connall told KREM that throughout his 14 years at the church, he had never experienced such a situation.
According to a post on the church’s Facebook page, both Gaines and Daly weren’t injured during the ordeal and were ‘doing well.’
Connall immediately stopped the prayer after the sudden blow and appeared to look around in utter confusion
After the man was escorted out of the church, Connall (pictured) resumed the service with a prayer for Sommers
Sommers was eventually cuffed by security and booked into the Spokane County Jail on several charges, including third-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and fourth-degree attempted assault
‘Thank you for all your concerns and thank you for joining us again for this evening’s Novena,’ the post read.
Sommers was ultimately booked into the Spokane County Jail on several charges, including third-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and fourth-degree attempted assault.
The shocking attack didn’t seem to shake the celebrants too much, as many were back in the cathedral on Wednesday for the third night of prayers, during which Connall spoke briefly of the incident, The New York Post reported.
‘We’re fine, just a little shaken from last night but today helped,’ Connall said at Wednesday’s service, which had a heightened security presence.
‘It was a troubling event last night.’
Though shocked, Connall poked fun at Gaines and suggested that he wear a bandage similar to the one President Donald Trump wore after an assassination attempt against him in July.
‘I asked Father Gaines to process in tonight with a square bandage over his ear,’ Connall joked as the crowd laughed.
‘I would’ve done it but Father Gaines has more integrity.’
Tuesday’s attack wasn’t the first time Sommers has run into trouble with the law. In 2023, he was also charged with third-degree assault, according to court records.
Tuesday’s attack wasn’t the first time Sommers has run into trouble with the law. In 2023, he was also charged with third-degree assault
According to a post on the church’s Facebook page, both Gaines (pictured) and Daly weren’t injured during the ordeal and were ‘doing well’
Connall said that throughout his 14 years at the church, he had never experienced such a situation
He is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Although Connall acknowledged the immense amount of support and well wishes received by the priests involved, he told KREM that there has also been a level of concern for Sommers.
‘Whatever his motivation was, it wasn’t well, so it’s providential or ironic that we are in these days of healing,’ he said.
‘And in the midst of all this, this happens from a man who needs some sort of healing in his life.’
