Baptism turns violent when Hawaii man is shot in the back at Seventh-day Adventist church

A Honolulu church was the scene of a violent Baptism Sunday, when a man was shot in the back at the Samoa-Tokelau Seventh-day Adventist Church.

According to the Honolulu Star, Tali Talitonu was baptized in a large celebration, but a woman in the crowd fired a shot at him. A church elder quickly grabbed her hand and pointed the gun away from people. She was identified as being a member of the congregation.

“As soon as I heard the bang, I turned around and he already had her,” said Sam Tauolo, a church member who was also baptized today. “The church (service) had just ended, so everybody was coming out. Anybody could have been hit.”

Paramedics were able to stabilize the shooting victim and he is now in stable condition. The shooter was taken into custody by police.