A priest was attacked during a mass at a cathedral in Washington state plunging the service into chaos. Father David Gaines, the parochial vicar at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, had been praying during the Tuesday service when a man got up from one of the pews and launched himself toward the the altar. Moments later, the man could be seen assaulting the priest before tumbling to the ground.
The assault jolted several churchgoers from their seats with service participants seen surrounding the man shortly after the attack. Gaines was able to get on top of the attacker and subdue him. The pair wrestled for several seconds before other church staff intervened and aided the priest. A microphone that picked up a witness told the attacker to "calm down.". The person continued: "It's OK buddy, it's alright. It's OK." Security were called shortly afterward as the attacker shouted.
Rector Father Darrin Connall thanked those present who "stormed the sanctuary" to help the priest. He later told the congregation a man was arrested and charged with both assault and trespassing. Gaines was not injured in the attack. Following the attack, the church wrote on its Facebook page: "Fr. Gaines and Bishop Daly are both doing well. Thank you for all of your concerns and thank you for joining us again for this evening’s Novena.".
Connall later told local network KREM: “Whatever his motivation was it wasn’t well, so it’s providential or ironic that we are in these days of healing and in the midst of all this, this happens from a man who needs some sort of healing in his life." He went on to address the attack the following day. "We're fine, just a little shaken from last night but today helped, it was a troubling event last night," he said. Connall then suggested Gaines should wear a bandage, a reference to the one Donald Trump wore on his ear following the attempt on his life in July last year.
