Brazilian fatally stabs girlfriend, shoots 3 dead at church

RIO DE JANEIRO – A man knifed his girlfriend to death in her home Tuesday, then went to a Baptist church and opened fire with a pistol, killing three more people, authorities said.

The gunman was then shot and wounded by military police at the church in Paracatu in Minais Gerais state, officials said. He was reported in serious condition at a hospital late Tuesday. Authorities identified him as Rudson Aragao Guimaraes, 39.

The attack took place in the Bela Vista neighbourhood of Paracatu, which is a city of 80,000 inhabitants.

Officials said a closed meeting of about 20 churchgoers was being held at the time of the shooting. Authorities did not provide a motive for the attack, but said the wounded man had been expelled by the church for “problems of behaviour.”