[Holmes:] All right. Going to bring you some new details now about the killing of an Illinois pastor during his Sunday sermon. A church official now says the Reverend Fred Winters died doing what he believed passionately, but he was gunned down at the pulpit on Sunday. Two parishioners actually tackled the shooter, stopping him before he could hurt anybody else, even though he did stab a couple of other people. Now, here's one of those men speaking to CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING.".
[Keith Melton, Tackled Church Shooter:] Once he turned to flee from me, and I was able to tackle him, as soon as I looked up, I mean, there were men everywhere. They were blocking the aisles, they were doing everything they could to keep this guy contained. And immediately, once they had him secured, I ran back to the pastor to see if I could help. But by that time, there were more people there who were better skilled at trying to help him. And it was in that time that I realized I had been stabbed.
[Holmes:] And our Jim Acosta reports now on what happened on Sunday. Also more about that beloved pastor and the alleged shooter.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Prosecutors say a day planner found in Terry Sedlacek's home marked Sunday as "Death Day." And investigators now say he came prepared to deliver, carrying enough ammunition to kill 30 people. He managed to fire four rounds, the first deflected by Pastor Fred Winters' bible, another hitting the man most called "Pastor Fred" in the heart. After that, the gun jammed and Sedlacek was tackled by two men who jumped from the pews.
[Melton:] I just ran and got behind the guy. I managed to get my arms around him and pull him off the pastor. That's, you know and then the struggle there somewhere within that struggle he was able to stab me.
[Acosta:] Investigators think Sedlacek arrived early, parking his jeep closed to the door. Once inside, witnesses say he walked straight down the aisle, right up to the pastor.
[Melton:] As we were enjoying our church service, this gentleman just walked in, walked straight down the center aisle of the church, up to our pastor, and our pastor paused to greet him and asked him if he could do anything for him, and he opened fire.
[Acosta:] Investigators still aren't sure if the two knew each other. In an article published last August, Sedlacek's mother told the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" her son had been diagnosed as mentally ill in high school, and at one point had been taking up to 18 pills a day. Neighbors say they would sometimes see him running around like a ninja.
[Unidentified Male:] Well, he'd just do his karate moves and stuff, and yelling and screaming.
[Acosta:] The church says it's keeping Sedlacek in its prayers, even sending a pastor to visit his family.
[Pastor Mark Jones, First Baptist Church:] We actually pray for him. We pray that he apparently has a second chance.
[Acosta:] On the church's Web site, members have been posting memories of Pastor Fred, part of it with growing the congregation through his almost 22 years there, and whose sermon Sunday was about finding happiness, similar to the one he delivered just a week before his death.
[Unidentified Male:] Come on, get happy. And we've been talking about keys to happiness in our life.
[Acosta:] Sedlacek's mother has blamed her son's mental illness on Lyme disease, a link that's the subject of serious debate and that the Centers for Disease Control calls highly unusual. A service for Pastor Fred, who leaves behind a wife and two children, will be held Friday. Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
[Holmes:] Well, a new weapon to fight the crumbling housing market. Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has help for homeowners who want to break bad contracts. You've got some options.