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May 15, 2024

Ambridge church criticizes police response to armed man

Jeffrey Harris is being held at the Beaver County Jail on a $975,000 bond Jeffrey Harris is being held at the Beaver County Jail on a $975,000 bond The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to

Jeffrey Harris is being held at the Beaver County Jail on a $975,000 bond

Jeffrey Harris is being held at the Beaver County Jail on a $975,000 bond

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Jeffrey Harris is being held at the Beaver County Jail on a $975,000 bond

Religious and political leaders are now calling for a bigger investigation after a man tried to enter a Beaver County church armed with a gun.

Bishop Kenneth Crumb criticized the Ambridge Police Department for not notifying him of the incident until hours later.

“I am thinking first of all, we are not strangers or outsiders in this community. We have served this community for 27 years, and nobody thought enough about us to walk 10 steps to inform us of what happened and what was presently happening,” Crumb said.

With leaders of different faiths by his side, Crumb expressed his concerns inside Greater Dominion Church, where police said the suspect, 38-year-old Jeffrey Harris, attempted to enter, armed with a shotgun, an hour before Sunday service.

“I was told that it isn't racially motivated, but there are over 40 churches in Ambridge, and only two are predominantly African American churches … I was told it is not a hate crime, but the last time a gunman showed up at a worship center, nine people were killed in a Methodist Church in South Carolina,” Crumb said.

Police said Harris also pointed a long gun at two women on the street and an officer who was arriving on the scene.

According to investigators, when officers entered Harris' home, it appeared ready for a standoff with barricades and ammunition inside. There was also a notebook found that referenced an active shooting.

“Less than 24 hours earlier, a gunman targeted a Black neighborhood Dollar General store and killed three African Americans in Jacksonville, Florida … in light of these things, what would you think if you were standing here in my shoes,” Crumb said. Community leaders, like Rabbi Ron Symons, also came out to show their support. “We know all too well what happens when hate comes to the door, not just in the Jewish community but across all our communities because we all are connected to one another…when one community is assaulted, all of us are assaulted,” said Symons, the founding director of the Center for Loving Kindness at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, Congressman Chris Deluzio is calling on the Department of Justice to launch a federal civil rights investigation.

“We have basic fundamental freedoms in this country to worship as you see fit, to be free from discrimination based on the color of your skin. We have seen in Pittsburgh what it means to see folks targeted, the Tree of Life. We’ve seen shootings at black churches in Charleston. We’ve seen others targeted for their religion or their race. I don’t want to see that happen again. When something like this threatens a predominantly black church or any house of worship, we ought to have federal law enforcement take a look and see if there are any federal laws violated,” Deluzio said.

As the investigation continues, Ambridge police Chief John DeLuca talked with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on Tuesday about the case.

“No evidence was found inside the residence, a manifesto, anything of a pre-planning event in any way, shape, or form that said he was going to make any type of attack on a church or any racial activity whatsoever,” DeLuca said.

On Wednesday, after Crumb’s latest remarks, DeLuca said he had no further comment.

“Though we are appreciative of the Ambridge Police Department in their efforts to stop this tragedy from happening, we are very concerned with the dismissive statements of Chief John DeLuca. You cannot tell us whether it was racially motivated or not because we know this experience too well,” Minister Victor Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque 22 said.Crumb said they are stepping up security measures moving forward at Greater Dominion Church, including two armed guards at the entrance and keeping the doors locked during services.

Harris is being held at the Beaver County Jail on a $975,000 bond.