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Pastor, Church Employee Among 3 Killed in Florida

Murder
Posted at 2:23 AM, Dec 05, 2014
and last updated 2014-12-05 02:23:00-05

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a man killed his wife and another woman and then headed to the Bradenton, Florida, church where his wife worked and fatally shot the pastor.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office says 33-year-old Adres "Andy" Avalos fatally shot Pastor James "Tripp" Battle at the Bayshore Baptist Church on Thursday afternoon. While at that scene, deputies learned about the other two victims from a witness to the shooting.

They went to the house and found the bodies of Amber Avalos and another woman whose name hasn't been released. Amber Avalos worked at the church as its nursery and children's director. The Avaloses have six children.

Detectives say Andy Avalos was last seen near the church driving a gold Chevrolet Suburban.

Bradenton is about 35 miles south of Tampa along Florida's Gulf coast.