PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Last week's gunfire inside a church in north Portland, Ore., has turned into a homicide case with the death of a 31-year-old man, police say.
Darshawn Cross, 31, who was shot at least three times inside the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church Friday, was declared brain-dead Monday while surrounded by relatives and friends at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, The Oregonian newspaper reported.
Investigators told the newspaper they have established leads in the suspected gang-related shooting, although no arrests have been made.
"Even real live gangsters and the Mafia respect the church -- they may shoot you when you come out of it but won't shoot you when you come in it," said Robert Richardson, a church elder from a nearby Baptist congregation. "But when we get to a place where a young man has gotten so ripped with anger, misunderstanding and the malice of a thug life, he has no conscience for the serenity of church, it's a real sad commentary."
Police say Cross was attending the funeral service for his friends' mother, Sharon Lynn Kemp, 51, when he was shot as 150 people were gathered in the main sanctuary.
