From the Shreveport Times of June 5, 2008
Church security guard shoots man in chest
Members of Mount Canaan Baptist let out of their Wednesday service to find a regular visitor had been shot in the chest by the Shreveport church's security guard.
At some point during the service, the man left the sanctuary and became involved in an altercation with the security guard, Shreveport Police Chief Henry Whitehorn said.
"He frequents different churches. He came here this (Wednesday) evening and was asked to leave because of his demeanor and actions."
Police still are investigating what caused the altercation outside the Alston Street church, Whitehorn said. The man had an object in his jacket he was using "in a threatening way," the police chief said.
Joanne Carter identified the wounded man as her brother Joe "Jake" Morris, 61, a disabled veteran who has been diagnosed schizophrenic.
"He does this holy dance, and they don't like it. Some men or women run around the church, and that's what he does," Carter said. "He goes to an extreme. Deacons have thrown stuff at him before."
Lashonda Nelson, who was in the service, said Morris was not being disruptive.
"Usually, he clowns, but there wasn't no clowning or anything. He was doing good. He talked to the preacher and left."
Nelson said she did not hear a gunshot and the congregation was unaware of what happened until the preacher announced it.
Morris was taken to LSU Hospital in Shreveport for treatment of a wound that was not life-threating, Whitehorn said.
Police are working to determine if the shooting was justifiable.
The guard was upset following the incident, Whitehorn said. "It's bothering him immensely."
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