AP: Church shooter was jealous of murdered pastor

Christopher Leonard of Associated Press has an absorbing story on the relationship between murdered pastor Kernal Rehobson and the man charged with pulling the trigger, Eiken Elam Saimon:

When Eiken Elam Saimon opened fire inside a church here Sunday, Rehobson was the first to die, witnesses said. The son of Saimon's cousin, Rehobson was acquainted with Saimon and over the years referred to the older man as "poppa" and "uncle" to show respect, said Lou Rehobson-Manuel, his sister.

Both men arrived here nearly 20 years ago from Micronesia, seeking a better life, but it was Rehobson who gained influence in Neosho's tightly knit community of hundreds of Micronesian immigrants.

"I think Saimon was jealous," Rehobson-Manuel said. "He wasn't a leader; he didn't do a lot. He likes to party, and Kernal is the opposite."

Authorities said Saimon entered the church with two handguns, killing three men and wounding four other people. As he approached the congregation of roughly 50 fellow immigrants, witnesses said, he cursed the men as liars and accused them of attacking his reputation behind his back.

Although relatives said the congregation was unaware of it, Saimon's standing in the community was in jeopardy even before the shooting. A 14-year-old female relative told police just hours earlier that Saimon had sexually assaulted her.

"In the (Micronesian) custom, it is low, low" to be accused of such a crime, said Atryino Dolon, who first met Saimon in 1989. "I don't think he would be welcome anywhere."