A priest and a church employee were assaulted inside St. Joseph’s Catholic Church after a mass on June 8.
Mission RCMP said in a statement that the incident occurred shortly before 1 p.m. at the 7th Avenue parish.
A 33-year-old from Mission was arrested and released on conditions not to attend the church or have contact with either of the victims, pending a future court date.
Police say when the suspect was asked to leave, they allegedly assaulted the priest and a woman.
One of the victims works in an administrative role at the church and spoke with the Mission Record about the incident. She was attending Sunday mass with her children when a parishioner said the suspect was refusing to leave.
The suspect was belligerent, uncooperative, and verbally aggressive while claiming they had no food and no place to live, according to the victim. The suspect began picking up plates of cake that had been left over from a reception, and started eating before washing personal items and clothing in the washroom.
The 33-year-old was told to wait at the front door for police but they proceeded downstairs where the victim blocked them while the church priest waited at the top of the stairs.
The victim says the priest told the suspect, “you can't stay here, but I can try to get you some food if that's all you need.”
Despite eating the food, the victim said the suspect became more verbally aggressive.
“I had already made two non-emergency calls to Mission detachment trying to get an update on when members were coming, as I knew it was going to go sideways,” she said.
According to the victim, the suspect told the priest, “Why don't you just punch me in the face and chase me out if you want me out.”
When the victim said that’s not how things were done in the church, she said the suspect immediately jumped off the chair and punched the priest in the jaw.
“He sort of managed to step backwards, so he missed the full force of it,” she said.
The woman tried to grab the suspect’s arm to move them out of the door.
“I thought if we got both arms, we could potentially shove [them] out that exit door,” she said.
The woman was punched multiple times in the face and doesn’t remember much afterwards. She was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a concussion and a left orbital displaced fracture to her face.
The priest managed to get the suspect out and locked the doors. Six people from the church were locked inside the building, waiting for police to arrive. The victim said she made four total calls for police – two to 911 and two to the detachment.
Police say investigators are in the process of gathering evidence and will be recommending charges. Those with information are urged to contact Mission RCMP at 604-826-7161.
