1st victim in Pa. killings was at a church

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HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A man gunned down by Pennsylvania troopers Friday after killing three people began his shooting spree with a woman decorating a church, police said.

Three troopers were wounded in a shootout with Jeff Michaels, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

The first victim was Kimberly Scott, 58, who was shot at the Juniata Valley Gospel Church in Frankstown, near Hollidaysburg.

Beverly McCaulley, a former pastor's daughter-in-law, told the Post-Gazette Scott was helping decorate the church for a children's Christmas party.

Michaels lived about half a mile from the church on Juniata Valley Road. Two men were shot outside another home on the same road.

Several miles of the road became a crime scene and were closed.

Neighbors said the other victims were Kenneth Lynn and William Rhodes, his son-in-law.

Marla Finn, a spokeswoman for the state police, said one trooper was injured in a head-on collision with Michaels' pickup truck, The Altoona Gazette reported. A second trooper was hit by gunfire that struck his body armor and a third by broken glass when bullets broke the windows of a police car.