[Iraq Sun] PHOENIX, Arizona - An attack on a Catholic church in Phoenix killed a 28-year-old priest and injured another after suspected burglars shot up them, police said Thursday.The burglary at the Mater Misericordiae (Mother of Mercy) Mission near 16th Avenue and Monroe Street was reported Wednesday evening when police received a 911 call apparently by the priest who was injured.
Phoenix Police Department front man Steve Martos said one of the priests suffered gunshot wounds and later died in hospital
The Diocese of Phoenix in a statement Thursday identified the slain priest as Father Kenneth Walker, who is listed as associate pastor at the mission, established by Bishop Thomas Olmstead in 2005 to provide Latin Mass to the faithful in Arizona.
"We are stunned and deeply saddened to learn of the tragic assault perpetrated last night against Fr. Joseph Terra and Fr. Kenneth Walker, two religious order priests who belong to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter," the statement said.
Father Joseph Terra, the pastor, was identified as the priest who survived. He remains in critical but stable condition, according to the statement.
Police said Terra, 56, was "physically harmed" but not stabbed or shot.
Martos said on Twitter that Phoenix police were "investigating a homicide at (the) church property".
"We are hoping to be able to have some conversation with the injured priest at some point, hopefully later today, to gather some more of that information," Martos told news hounds at the scene.
Burglars had apparently stolen a car from the church property. The vehicle was later found unoccupied at 17th Avenue and Taylor Street, about four blocks north of the church, Martos said.