Church Shooter Waives Court Hearing; Parishioners Return to Church for First Time

Floyd Palmer, suspect in the World Changers Church shooting that killed Greg McDowell, waived 2 court appearances last week and is said to not be talking to investigators.

On Sunday, members of World Changers in East Point flooded in to show support for their fallen fellow church member, Mr. McDowell.  According to an 11Alive Report, the 8,500 capacity mega-church was completely filled for this first Sunday service since the tragedy.  Reporting from that article quotes parishioners who say they wanted to attend because they have been praying for the families involved, and they want to show support in such a tragic situation.

The church community is understandably still mourning and questioning the events that happened just 5 days ago, as they also prepare for a funeral in the following days.  On Sunday, Rev. Creflo Dollar turned to his parishioners to take up and "extra offering" for the family of the victim.  He told his church he wanted to raise $234K by the end of the day Sunday.

One of the most heartbreaking surprises in this case is that the suspect, Mr. Palmer was arrested for shooting a man at a Mosque almost 10 years ago in Maryland.  Court documents reveal that Mr. Palmer agreed to a plea bargain and served several years in a mental facility for the crime.  The victim in that case was paralyzed in the attack.

Gregory McDowell was 39 years-old, lived in Union City and leaves behind a wife and 2 sons.  His funeral is scheduled for early this week.