Standoff at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church

WSLS News Staff
Published: July 17, 2008

Updated at 4:26 p.m.

By Lindsey Henely

There were some scary moments this morning for members of Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Roanoke as police tried to coax an armed woman inside the historic building, out.

“She told them to shoot. Go ahead on and shoot me then,” Willie Caldwell, a church member, said.

Church members arrived early Thursday morning to start cleaning for their 150th Anniversary celebration.

“We was coming down here to clean the church up, so we can get it all ready,” Silas Witt, a church member, said.

Because of past break-ins, church members always check around the building before going inside. This time when they made their routine sweep, they spotted a car parked out back.

That’s when they saw a chair underneath a broken window and called police.

“I knew something was wrong,” Witt said.

Within minutes, police surrounded the church, weapons drawn.

“She kept hitting the windows. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but I was just seeing her mouth motioning anger,” Caldwell said.

After two hours of waiting, the tactical team went in and minutes later they came out with a suspect in handcuffs.

Inside the church, there’s little damage. There are a few things left behind like an ironing board, some detergent, and a fresh pot of coffee.

“She wasn’t here to vandalize the place or mess up anything,” Juanita Berger, a church member said.

With the celebration just days away, the congregation let out a sigh of relief as the woman was loaded into the back of the police van and taken away.

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Updated 12:19 p.m.

The standoff is over. The Roanoke City Police tactical team went in, and took the woman into custody.

She will be taken for a mental evaluation.

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Original story 11:41 a.m.

A standoff at a historic church in Roanoke.

Roanoke City Police say a woman is armed and inside Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Northeast Roanoke.

Police tell us a church member went to the church to check on it around 10:00 a.m., following a rash of past break-ins. The church member saw a car parked in the back of the church, and called 911.

When police arrived, they found an armed woman inside, and a standoff began.

The Roanoke City Police tactical team is on scene, and surrounding the church.

10 On Your Side’s Lindsey Henley is on the scene, she’ll bring you more information as we get it.