Ill. churchgoer wonders if he acted quickly enough

[March 09, 2009]  TROY (AP) -- A churchgoer credited with helping subdue a gunman who shot and killed a southern Illinois pastor says he questions whether he acted quickly enough to stop the violence.

Keith Melton tells KSDK-TV that he wonders if a half-second more would have made a difference in Sunday's fatal shooting of the Rev. Fred Winters.

Melton says the gunman was walking down the aisle at First Baptist Church in Maryville when Winters greeted him and asked if there was anything he could do for him.

Then the gunman opened fire. Melton says after the shooting, he got behind the man and got his arms around him.

He and a fellow parishioner tackled the gunman, who brandished a four-inch knife, leaving all three with stab wounds.

Melton was treated and released for a wound to his chest.

[Associated Press]

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