Thief robs choir in church

As the strains of "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" filled the sanctuary, a man with a long gun interrupted choir practice Wednesday in a Goose Creek church and made off with purses, wallets and cell phones.

"He yelled, 'Get on the floor! Get on the floor!' the whole time he was coming down the aisle of the church," said one of the nine robbery victims, 77-year-old Dorothy Causey, on Thursday.

Causey, who has prosthetic legs and a walker to get about, was unable to get on the floor of St. James United Methodist Church. The robber then pointed the gun in her face and ordered her to get out her wallet, she said.

"I close my eyes and that's all I can see," a still shaken Causey said.

Goose Creek Police Department spokeswoman Jesica Johnson said the gunman entered the church at 512 St. James Ave. at about 8 p.m., and fled on foot.

A manhunt aided by Berkeley County Sheriff's Office personnel and tracking dogs failed to find the robber.

From among the victims, police got some variations in the descriptions of the suspect and his clothing. Police said the consensus was the man was black, 20 to 50 years old, about 5 feet, 6 inches to 5 feet, 11 inches tall, wearing beige pants or blue jeans, and a black cap or hoodie.

The gunman carried either a shotgun or a rifle, and had "Gullah like" speech and used vulgar language, victims told police.

"Investigators are actively following up leads in this case," Johnson said.

Causey said the choir had just chosen the hymn they would perform at Sunday's service, and had begun to rehearse it, when the gunman walked in through an unlocked door.

"I watched the man and he had a gun. The first thing that was going through my mind is that somebody is playing a prank, but when he raised the shotgun, we all knew it was for real," Causey said.

As a double amputee, Causey was one of two choir members physically unable to lie on the floor. After seven victims complied with his order, "He pointed the gun at me and yelled 'Get on the floor!,' " Causey said.

She said that after another choir member informed the robber that Causey could not, he commanded her to "'Get out your wallet and throw it this way.' "

Her purse was on the floor in front of her, Causey said. "I leaned over to my left and reached down and very slowly took my wallet out," she said.

A police report said another of the robbery victims told investigators that the man had the weapon "firmly pulled into his shoulder and was pointing it at the choir as he entered."

The robber "seemed very calm," and during the incident said, "Keep your heads down. I'll blow your head off," the report said.

After gathering wallets and purses, cash, credit and ID cards, keys and cell phones, the robber walked toward a side door. "He yelled, 'Don't get up! Don't get up! Don't get up!' I could see him as he went out the side door," Causey said.

The robber was last seen leaving the parking area on foot. "No one tried to stop him, or we all would have been killed. Still, it was so scary," Causey said.

A charter member of the church, Causey has been a member for 28 years. There have been break-ins, but never anything like what happened Wednesday, she said.

"They are so desperate, they are holding up people in church," she said. "I don't think it has anything to do with the economy. If he had asked our pastor for help, it would have been provided. But he didn't choose to go that way."

Causey said she believes the robber took more than just material things from choir members -- he took their sense of safety and security while in church.

"We were in the church sanctuary practicing," she said. Causey said the choir has practiced every Wednesday at the church for many years, and will continue weekly practice but at an alternate location.

She said she and the other robbery victims were still struggling Thursday to deal with the trauma. "I just thank the Lord that we were spared and he didn't kill anybody. We have to depend on the Lord at times like this."