TROTWOOD, Ohio -- The Rev. Andrew Lofton was explaining the book of Revelation and urging his Bible students to prepare themselves for the afterlife. Moments later, he lay shot and dying next to a pew on the church floor.
Police arrested Kenneth Nance, 58, a choir member who had sat quietly during Wednesday night's Scripture lesson. Investigators had not determined a motive.
Police Capt. Jim Borland said four or five people were talking to the Rev. Mr. Lofton after the class at Christ Temple Apostolic Faith Church in this Dayton suburb. He said a man pulled out a .32-caliber handgun and shot the pastor several times.
Church member Richard Eiland was elsewhere in the building when he heard the gunshots. As he reached the sanctuary, a woman burst through the doors.
"She was all hysterical," he said. "She says, "The man shot him. The man shot Elder Lofton.' "
Mr. Eiland sobbed Thursday as he recalled walking inside and seeing the Rev. Mr. Lofton, his shirt soaked with blood.
"He was laying on the floor in front of the first pew. His wife was with him," Mr. Eiland said. "He was gasping for air."
He said the Rev. Mr. Lofton had wounds in his back and chest. The minister was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital and Health Center, where he died.
Mr. Borland said Mr. Nance turned himself in to police in suburban Moraine, telling them he had shot a man.
He said that Mr. Nance was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and that police would meet with prosecutors to seek formal charges against him.
The church is a tan, brick building with white steeple and towering stained-glass windows that sits at the end of a cul-de-sac in a residential neighborhood.
Alphonsa Forward Sr., an associate minister, said the Rev. Mr. Lofton, 65 and father of 11 grown children, was a gentle man whose life revolved around the church.
"He was a man who cared for his people," the Rev. Mr. Forward said. "He was concerned about their salvation and concerned about the way things were going in this world, and tried to make people ready."
The Rev. Mr. Forward, who had attended the Bible study class but had left before the shooting, said about 75 people were in the sanctuary for the lesson. He said the Rev. Mr. Lofton had been discussing the third chapter of Revelation about the "lukewarm" age when people were not vigorously following God's word.
"He was deeply concerned about people being ready when they go from this life," the Rev. Mr. Forward said. "He didn't bite his tongue when it comes to God's word. He'd tell you like it is, whether you liked it or not."
Mr. Eiland, 47, of Dayton, said he thought Mr. Nance was homeless when he joined the church five or six years ago and later supported himself as an independent cab driver. Police said they did not know his hometown, but congregation members said Mr. Nance had moved to the area from Columbus.
