Sunday Mass at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church was the site of multiple attacks by a knife-wielding man who believed the choir director was “part of a group of Freemasons who are involved in a large-scale conspiracy,” the Albuquerque Police Department said.
Lawrence Capener, 24, was arrested on three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Police said he carried out a “brutal attack” on the choir director, identified as 48-year-old Adam Alvarez. At least two other churchgoers were stabbed, including choir member Gerald Madrid, 53, and Greg Aragon, 43.
Madrid “tried to stop the attack by wrapping his arms around Capener” and was stabbed “five times in the back,” police said.
“Witnesses say that as the final song of the church service began, Capener leapt from his seat, jumped over the pews and charged Alvarez with a knife,” police said.
Aragon is an off-duty Albuquerque firefighter who intervened with other parishioners to stop the attack. Also wounded was Michael Tungate, a 37-year-old churchgoer, police said. They added that Capener waved his knife “wildly” during a “massive struggle” involving multiple worshipers to disarm him.
Police credited off-duty public-safety personnel who were attending the Mass with preventing the already-violent attack from becoming even more bloody. Among the churchgoers who intervened were Charles Metzler Jr., an FBI special agent; Chris Maestas, a Rio Rancho police officer; Gilbert Flores, a sergeant with the Department of Corrections; and Daren DeAguero, an off-duty Albuquerque police officer who managed to get Capener handcuffed with cuffs provided by Maestas.
“The quick action by the parishioners and numerous off-duty public safety personnel clearly prevented a major tragedy,” Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said. “We are grateful for the vigilance and bravery of those who undoubtedly put their lives at risk.”
From a statement by police (italics added):
Capener was interviewed by APD Northwest Impact Detectives Sunday evening and told them that he intended to attack Adam Alvarez because he believes Alvarez is part of a group of Freemasons who are involved in a large-scale conspiracy.
As Capener received medical treatment for the cut on his hand, he told medical staff that the Freemasons have tapped into the radio waves of the church’s microphones to send out their message. Capener stated that the devil was sending a message through the microphone whenever Alvarez sang or spoke. He said that he had been attending church at St. Jude’s for the past three months and on Sunday he “had enough” and had to take action.
Capener admitted to vandalizing the Masonic Lodge, 1420 Barbara Loop SE, Rio Rancho, NM. Capener vandalized the Masonic Lodge within hours prior to the church attack. Capener still had spray paint on his hands when he was taken into custody. The Rio Rancho Police Department is investigating the vandalism.
Separately, the Associated Press reported that Capener told police that he was “99 percent sure Alvarez was a mason” and that he thought Alvarez was involved in a conspiracy.
“He told the investigator that Masons are a group involved ‘in a conspiracy that is far more reaching than I could or would believe,’” the news agency reported.