Published on July 13, 2026 9:47 am
Last Updated on July 13, 2026 9:47 am
The man wounded in an incident at an Effingham church earlier this month has died of his injuries.
36-year-old Allen O. Gattino of St. Charles, Missouri died on July 6, the day after the weapon he was carrying discharged while local authorities were attempting to gain possession of the gun. No one else was injured in the incident.
Gattino went to St. John’s Lutheran Church and indicated he wanted to talk with the pastor. The church security team contacted city police, who responded to the scene along with county sheriff’s deputies. Police were called because of Gattino’s suspicious activity and the suspicious vehicle.
Gattino had driven to the church in a pickup truck stolen earlier that morning from Kinmundy. Kinmundy Police Chief Joe Duffy told WJBD Radio in Salem that Gattino had driven to Kinmundy in a vehicle stolen in Madison County. That vehicle was left behind the Kinmundy-Alma fire station when it ran out of gas. Duffy said Gattino then walked across town with the gun in his possession to the pickup truck that he stole and drove to Effingham.
