Rev. Tim Remington of Altar Church in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, is expected to make a full recovery after he was shot in the parking lot of his church on Sunday. Photo courtesy of the Altar Church
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, March 7 (UPI) -- A pastor in Idaho was shot and critically injured in his church's parking lot one day after delivering a prayer at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Tim Remington, 55, is the senior pastor of the nondenominational Altar Church in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Police were called after the shooting and Remington was found shortly after at about 2 p.m. local time on Sunday with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the Kootenai Health and Medical Center in critical condition.
The suspect in the shooting has been identified as Kyle Andrew Odom, a former U.S. Marine Corps corporal described as a white male in his mid-30s, about six feet tall with blue eyes and blonde hair. He is believed to have been driving a 2004 silver Honda Accord. Police warn he should be considered armed and dangerous.
No motive has been established. Remington has spent years working counseling inmates and is the director of Good Samaritan Rehabilitation, a faith-based organization that provides drug and alcohol treatment.
Church members said Remington is expected to make a full recovery in the coming days. Odom is accused of shooting Remington several times, reportedly in the lung, head, hip and shoulder.
"We don't love him less than anybody else," associate pastor John Padula said of the suspected gunman. "And we pray that he comes to know Jesus Christ as his lord and savior, so we don't want to see anything bad happen to him, either."
Remington delivered the opening prayer for Cruz at a campaign rally on Saturday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
"Our prayers are with Pastor Tim, his family, and the doctors who are supervising his care," Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Cruz's campaign, told NBC News. "We pray for his full recovery and are thankful for the efforts of law enforcement to ensure the attacker is swiftly brought to justice."
