Man Arrested After Threatening Pastor With Gun During Church Service

Deacon Terrance Edmonson had watched Keanu Randolph attend Greater Sunrise Missionary Baptist Church for two months, and had even given him money when he appeared down on his luck. What Edmonson did not know was that when he asked Randolph to leave during Sunday morning service, the 20-year-old's backpack held a loaded gun and a nine-inch butcher knife.

Randolph, 20, is charged with retaliation, unlawfully carrying a weapon, and evading arrest. Edmonson asked him to leave and placed the backpack outside. That is when, court documents say, Randolph threatened to kill Edmonson, rape his wife, and murder their 23-month-old daughter. Randolph pointed the gun at Edmonson, a second deacon, the church pastor, and a woman in the congregation before sprinting out of the building. Edmonson called 911, followed Randolph outside, and recorded the moment officers caught him.

During Randolph's first court appearance, it was revealed that officers found not only the loaded gun in his backpack but also the nine-inch butcher knife.

Houston Police Union president-elect Joe Gamaldi spoke out, pointing to both the gravity of the allegations and the $7,000 bond set for Randolph. "He threatened not only to kill this deacon's 23-month-old daughter, but to rape his wife and kill that deacon all while carrying a loaded firearm," Gamaldi said. Randolph only needs to post 10 percent of that bond to walk free. "He absolutely could get out at any moment and what bothers me is the proximity he lives from the church," Gamaldi said.

Within days, the Houston Police Department's Police and Clergy Alliance joined the Houston Area Pastors Council for a training session focused on active-shooter survival and parking lot security, led by officers and open to the public. In Pasadena, a parallel threat against Pastor Lamont Melrose of Potter's House Christian Church produced its own response: members began carrying concealed weapons to Sunday services, and a court order bars the suspect from setting foot on the property as a condition of his bond.

Harris County Constable Alan Rosen has pushed the same message to smaller congregations, noting that many lack any plan for an armed intruder. "There are a lot of small churches that don't have a plan and trained staff to respond in the event an active shooter comes," Rosen said. His office has offered firearms training for ushers and deacons specifically, with Rosen noting that "people give money at churches, which also makes them a target."

At Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, that shift has already taken hold. After a church shooting prompted the congregation to act, leadership ran concealed handgun classes that drew about 70 to 80 members. Pastor Edwin Davis now preaches with a pistol beneath his jacket.

For Greater Sunrise, the Sunday that Edmonson calmly followed an armed man into the street and waited for police to arrive may be the moment the congregation measures exactly what it costs to keep the doors open.