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Indian American kills estranged wife in church
An Indian American killed his estranged wife and critically injured two others when he opened fire at a church in New Jersey whose congregation has links with the Indian state of Kerala, US police said on Monday.
- IANS
- Published: 23:35 November 24, 2008
- Nijith Kurian, a relative of the dead, speaks on the phone outside the church after the shooting incident in Clifton, New Jersey, on Sunday.
- Image Credit: AP
New Jersey: An Indian American killed his estranged wife and critically injured two others when he opened fire at a church in New Jersey whose congregation has links with the Indian state of Kerala, US police said on Monday.
The incident occurred at 11.44am during the weekly mass at the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton.
Police said 27-year-old Joseph Pallipurath had driven all the way from Sacramento in California to kill his wife, 24-year-old Reshma James, who was at the church.
There were about 150 people inside the church when Pallipurath opened fire from a handgun. Reshma was killed, while 23-year-old Dennis John Malloosseril and 47-year-old Silvy Perincheril were injured.
Quoting witness, local daily The Record said Malloosseril and Perincheril were shot at point blank when they tried to stop Pallipurath from killing his wife.
All the three were taken to the nearby St. Joseph's Regional Medical Centre. Reshma was pronounced dead at about 4pm, while police said the condition of the other two was "very critical".
Friends of Malloosseril said he was near death and family members were making arrangements to donate his organs. Pallipurath managed to escape from the church. A case of homicide had been registered against him and the police have released his picture in the media. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the state police have joined the Clifton City Police in their effort to nab Pallipurath.
The incident has sent shock waves among the large Indian American community in New Jersey.
Restraining order
The Record reported that Reshma had moved to California from India in January after an arranged marriage to Pallipurath. However, church members said the relationship soon turned violent.
"He was beating her. She had a restraining order against him," said Thomas Abraham Lahayil, the church's vicar.
Reshma had fled Sacramento and moved in with Perincheril, who was her cousin.
Perincheril, a mother of three, used to work as the church's Sunday school teacher and a nurse at Passaic High School, family members said.
Church members said Reshma's parents in India had been informed of her death and were headed to the US. They were uncertain whether her body would be taken to India for burial.
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