2 shot at wedding in New Hampshire church

NEW YORK — A Saturday morning wedding at a church in a small New Hampshire town came to a bloody and abrupt halt when a gunman barged in and opened fire, wounding a bishop and the bride before he was “gang tackled,” the authorities said.

The shooting appeared to be revenge for the killing this month of another clergyman in the same congregation, New England Pentecostal Ministries church in Pelham, New Hampshire, about 48 kilometers north of Boston.

The gunman was identified by law enforcement officials as Dale Holloway, 37, who, according to obituary information, is the stepson of ordained minister Luis Garcia who was fatally shot at his Londonderry, New Hampshire, home on Oct 1.

Brandon Castiglione, 24, was charged with seconddegree murder in the death of church minister Garcia, for whom a memorial service had been scheduled at the church after Saturday’s wedding.

Castiglione’s father, Mark Castiglione, 60, was the groom, according to the authorities.

He was treated at a local hospital and released after being struck in the head with an unspecified object.

The most grave injury on Saturday was suffered by Bishop Stanley Choate, who the authorities said was shot in the chest and was in serious condition at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

In a Facebook post, Neivia Choate, the bishop’s niece, wrote: “A coward walked into my family’s church today at NEP New England Pentecostal Church and shot my uncle Bishop Stanley Choate.”