Priest, parishioner killed in shooting during Mass

LYNBROOK, N.Y. -- A man suspected of fatally shooting a priest and an elderly worshipper at a Long Island church was arrested Tuesday after police stormed his home and ended a daylong standoff.

The 34-year-old suspect was captured after he attempted to stab an officer with a small knife, Nassau County Police inspector Pete Matuza said.

Police say the man took a rifle into a Roman Catholic church during morning Mass and opened fire, killing the priest and an elderly woman.

Two parishioners, one of them an off-duty police officer, chased the gunman as he fled and wrestled the rifle away. But he escaped into the house about a block from the church.

Mayor Eugene Scarpato said he understood that the gunman -- described as 35 to 40 years old -- was a former church employee who had been fired several months ago. But police and church officials would not confirm that.

The Rev. Lawrence Penzes, 50, known to his congregation at Our Lady of Peace Church as "Father Larry," was speaking to about 40 parishioners when he was shot in the back and fell near the altar, the mayor said. Eileen Tosner was shot in the face and found slumped in a pew.