Greg Toppo

USATODAY

Police in Bowling Green, Ky., arrested a 21-year-old man Sunday who they said stabbed his father during a morning service at a local church.

Congregation members and security workers at Hillvue Heights Church subdued the suspect, identified as Ethan Buckley of Bowling Green. He was charged with first-degree assault and domestic violence, police told WBKO-TV.

The unidentified victim was hospitalized, but his condition was not immediately known, the Bowling Green Daily News reported.

The stabbing took place during the 9:30 a.m. service, just before the altar call was given, police said. Members of the congregation told WBKO that the pair said they were visiting from Arkansas. Both men filled out first-time visitor cards at the start of the sermon, the station reported.

An associate pastor reportedly tackled Buckley, preventing more stab wounds, one congregant told WBKO. Another said he saw the scene unfold from the church balcony and yelled “Knife!” as loudly as he could to alert others.

Brent Duvall of Bowling Green told the Daily News that he was praying at the altar when the stabbing took place.

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"I thought it was someone going into cardiac arrest or a seizure," he said.

Duvall said he saw others tackle the suspect, who was "being very combative." Pastors asked everyone to leave the sanctuary calmly, he said.

No other injuries were reported.

Bowling Green Police spokesman Rick Bessette called the stabbing "an isolated incident between father and son," but Duvall called it symptomatic of what's happening worldwide. "It's a lost and fallen world we live in. It shouldn't surprise us," he said.

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