Seven killed in shooting at Living Church of God service in Brookfield, Wisconsin

The shootings took place during a Saturday service of the Living Church of God at a suburban Milwaukee hotel, where the congregation met because it did not have a building of its own. Police said Terry Ratzmann, a 44-year-old computer technician who regularly attended the gatherings, opened fire on the 50 to 60 people present. Seven people were killed, including the church’s minister and his teenage son, and four others were wounded.

Neighbors and church members described Ratzmann as quiet and devout. He was known for sharing homegrown vegetables and tinkering with his house and garden, and one neighbor said he would release chipmunks caught in traps he set in his yard. Shane Colwell, who had known him for about a decade, said he was “average Joe” and had never pushed his beliefs on anyone.

The Living Church of God is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and grew out of a 1933 schism in the Worldwide Church of God. The group focuses on “end-time” prophecies. Its leader, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith, had written earlier that year that events prophesied in the Bible were “beginning to occur with increasing frequency.” The church has an estimated 6,300 members in 40 countries.

Witnesses and accounts described the attack as sudden. Police said Ratzmann fired 22 bullets from a 9 mm handgun within a minute and that he allegedly dropped a magazine and reloaded another. Chandra Frazier, a member, said Ratzmann had walked out of a recent sermon “sort of in a huff.”

Dorothy Hodzinski told WISN-TV in Milwaukee that she dropped to the floor and that Gerald Miller, a 44-year-old delivery truck driver, threw his arm over her to shield her. Miller’s brother, Jeff Miller, called the killing “totally senseless” and said, “He was a great guy. He didn’t deserve to die.” Hodzinski, who survived, recalled that Miller had said he thought they should pray before he was shot, in a moment of protecting a vulnerable neighbor (Psalm 82:3).

Ratzmann had shot himself, and police said he was found slumped against the back wall with four rounds left in his gun. He left no suicide note and gave no explanation for the killings. Investigators said he was on the verge of losing his job, but it was unclear what prompted the slayings.

Agents who searched his home found three computers containing many encrypted files, along with a rifle and ammunition. Ratzmann had lived with his mother and sister in a modest home about two miles from the hotel. Church members said he had struggled with depression, and another neighbor described him as a drinker.

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