James Evans, 65, was shot in the head by his son-in-law while attending a Father's Day Mass in St James the Just Church in Ogden, Utah.

"He turned his head just at the right time. If he hadn't turned his head, he would have been hit in the back of the head and he would have been dead," said his wife Tara at the hospital where he is recovering.

"We made sure that Jim was taken care of and the people were OK and the crime scene was preserved, then we started up Mass again," said Father Erik Richtsteig, a family friend of the Evanses.

"I'm really proud of my parishioners. Their first response was to help Jim, help Tara, and then they were praying. What more can you ask of people?"

Many parishioners acted heroically during the shooting, Father Richtsteig said, including a teenager who was right next to the Evanses.

"Her first response wasn't to freak out or anything; she grabbed her little brother, she shoved him down, and then she ducked down," he said. "There are tons of stories like that. The way people responded was amazing."

"People are rattled, including me," Fr. Richtsteig said. "There were quite a few children at the Mass and they're the ones that we're most concerned about.... We've got some kids who are afraid to go to church."

The people who attended the Mass at which the shooting occurred "are a mess," he added. "They were worshipping God and this man came in and did an act of violence."

Charles Richard Jennings Jr, the Evans' son-in-law, was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

The incident coincided with the United States federal government's release of guidelines for houses of worship confronted with "active shooter situations".

Advising "run, hide or fight", the guidelines suggest — as a last resort — that adults in congregations should fight back to stop the shooter.

Sources:

Intermountain Catholic

Washington Post

Religion News Service

Image: Clarion Ledger