Utah man shoots father-in-law in head during Catholic mass

A Utah man is in custody after allegedly walking into a Catholic church and shooting his father-in-law in the back of the head on Sunday.

Rebecca Hernandez told The Salt Lake Tribune that she was sitting in the back of St. James Catholic Church in Ogden as the priest was preparing to administer communion when Charles Richard Jennings Jr. allegedly shot his father-in-law in the back of the head.

Ogden police Lt. Danielle Croyle said that Jennings ran to a nearby home where he stole a truck and a cellphone at gunpoint from a nearby home. The suspect then fled north in the truck before he ran out of gas and then continued fleeing on foot.

At one point Jennings used the cellphone to contact a family member and indicated that he "wanted to turn himself in," according to Croyle. Box Elder County sheriff's deputies and the Utah Highway Patrol used information from that phone call to track down and apprehend Jennings.

"This was a very specific desired target and action taken by the suspect," Croyle explained.

KUTV reported that the victim was in stable condition and able to talk after undergoing surgery.

Watch this video from KUTV, broadcast June 16, 2013.