On August 12, 2007, a shooting at the First Congregational Church in Neosho, Missouri, left three pastors dead during a Pingelapese-language service. Forty-four-year-old pastor Intenson Rehobson was killed along with his nephew, Senior Pastor Kernel Rehobson, and Associate Pastor Kuhpes Ikosia. Four other people were wounded, and about fifty remaining worshipers were briefly held hostage before police negotiators secured the suspect’s surrender.

Authorities say the attacker, identified as Eiken Elam Saimon, entered the church armed with two pistols, ordered children and a relative to leave, shouted an accusation, and then opened fire on senior members of the congregation. Saimon was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and multiple counts of first-degree assault for the wounded. He also faced separate charges alleging he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old relative the night before the shooting.

In March 2009 Saimon pleaded guilty and received three life sentences without parole for the murders, additional decades-long terms for the assaults, and further prison time for the sexual-offense charges.