Worshippers at the Kentucky Anglican Church in Cave Westmoreland are now breathing a collective sigh of relief after they were held hostage by a gunman who opened fire inside the church.
The armed thug and a female counterpart ran into the church as they sought refuge from a machete wielding mob that had earlier chopped one of their cronies to death.
The bizarre series of events began when the armed thugs entered a business place.
It is understood that the three hoodlums robbed the entity and made off with a sound system.
Residents were alerted and attempts by the thieves to drive out of the community were thwarted.
The residents managed to corner one of the men and he was hacked to death but his two cronies sought refuge in the church where they fired several shots sending members scampering for cover.
Sometime after, both the man and woman were handed over to the police but up to news time the police were still searching for the weapons.
The stolen sound system was recovered from the back of the vehicle in which the alleged thieves were travelling.