A year-old man with a history of assault cases attacked a priest during a service Tuesday night at Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in downtown Spokane, according to the Spokane Police Department. Video from the church shows Joshua J. Sommers sitting in a pew before rushing the sanctuary and appearing to throw a punch at Father David Gaines.
Calm down. A security officer and another man can be seen escorting Sommers from the sanctuary, according to the footage. Officers arrested him on suspicion of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and on felony warrants for an alleged assault and robbery of an Inland Northwest Behavioral Health employee in Another security issue arose at the church in when a homeless man, Lenny Luck, was suspected of hiding inside a bathroom for multiple hours and molesting a boy there, according to previous Spokesman-Review reporting.
Luck, who is 66 and has no affiliation with the church, is awaiting trial in jail on suspicion of one count of first-degree child molestation. Gaines said Our Lady of Lourdes may consider more measures going forward, including limiting the amount of bags people can bring into the congregation.
For Gaines, who has been a priest for more than 10 years and in Spokane the past year and a half, the attack shows the consequences of a neglected mental health system. His first appearances for all three misdemeanor cases were continued Wednesday and Thursday to Friday, according to the Spokane Municipal Court online portal. Sommers made his first appearance Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court for the third-degree assault and robbery charges.
Deputy Prosecutor Stuart Fox said Sommers, who has been in the Spokane County Jail since Tuesday night, refused to make his initial court appearance Wednesday and Thursday for the felony charges.
