A West Virginia preacher famous for holding dangerous snakes during sermons has died after a rattlesnake bit him last weekend.
Mark Randall Mack Wolford, 44, was bitten during a Memorial Day gathering at park, the Washington Post reported.
His birthday was Saturday, and all he wanted to do is get his brothers and sisters in church together, his sister, Robin, told the newspaper.
Wolford was profiled in the Post last year for his unconventional ways of testing faith. He believed that the Bible says Christians must handle serpents to test their faith in God.
Anybody can do it that believes it, he told the Post last year. Jesus said, These signs shall follow them which believe. This is a sign to show people that God has the power.
Lauren Pond, a freelance journalist who had recently worked with Wolford on a project, told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that there were about 25 people in the park for Wolfords ceremony.
She told the newspaper that Wolford was bitten in the thigh, but members of the congregation seemed unfazed.
I dont think anyone necessarily expected it, but theyve dealt with it before so its not such a huge shock maybe, she said.
He was eventually transported to Bluefield Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Serpent handling is controversial and illegal in many states. But according to a 2003 National Georgraphic report, it shows no signs of going away.
Serpent handling is maintained through powerful families whose children have carried on that tradition for up to four generations, one expert told the magazine at the time. There are a small number of converts, but they generally maintain themselves through these families, and by people marrying into the tradition.
Wolford, according to the Post, was passionate about keeping the tradition alive.
I promised the Lord Id do everything in my power to keep the faith going, he said in October. I spend a lot of time going a lot of places that handle serpents to keep them motivated. Im trying to get anybody I can get involed.
Park officials told the Charleston Gazette that poisonous snakes are not allowed in the park where the church cermony was held.
We do not allow people to bring poisonous snakes into the park, State Division of Natural Resources spokesman Hoy Murphy said. If they did it, it was without the park peoples knowledge.
What a strange practice. Pentecostal madness
Snippy said
1:55 AM, 06/01/12
Fucking non-believer.
Cy Valley said
1:46 PM, 01/23/13
First candidate of 2013 (and most of 2012, tu):
Trinidad and Tobago security guard accidentally shoots off his penis
By: David Ferguson
A security guard is hospitalized in the city of San Fernando in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago after accidentally discharging his weapon and shooting off his penis. According to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, the unnamed 33-year-old man was carrying a .38 caliber handgun in his pocket when it went off, striking him in the groin.
Police in the town of Rio Claro received a call around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday that witnesses had heard a shot coming from a parked car. Officers responding to the scene found the driver slumped at the wheel and bleeding from the injured area.
The wounded man was taken to San Fernando General Hospital where he remains under guard. Authorities ran a trace on him and found that he did not possess a license for the gun he was carrying. He faces charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Unfortunately, these types of accidents are not uncommon. The Digital Journal listed reports of accidental gunshot wounds to the penis and testicles in Arizona and Washington state, as well as an incident from September in Port Lucie, Florida in which a man cleaning a newly purchased gun at a party shot himself in the genitals.
Raw Story (http://s.tt/1yN4w)
Troll said
2:46 PM, 01/23/13
Snippy said
3:03 PM, 01/23/13
a elected repersentative of the poeple doing teh peoples work shall not be impinged.hes part of the mulitai and teh t s a has know rt. to detane him or teh firearm.
Billy Lee McDaniel was killed when Camarda accidentally shot him, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said McDaniel, 44, was a prospective member of the Southern Sons Motorcycle Club.
The shooting occurred while he and a group of club members drank outside at the saloon.
The members had McDaniel put a full-sized plastic garbage can on his head and were tossing in bottles and cups.
Camarda decided to shoot the garbage can while it was still on McDaniel's head. He missed the garbage can, shooting McDaniel instead.
When deputies arrived at the bar at 2624 Land O' Lakes Blvd., they found McDaniel suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper body.
Could be more of a dare, but theres no indication that it was any type of planned initiation event of anything like that, said Detective Aaron Smith of the Pasco County Sheriffs Office.
Paramedics rushed McDaniel to the hospital, where he passed away Monday morning.
Investigators say Carmada didnt do it on purpose.
I dont think this was an intentional act, Smith said. And again, we dont have any reason to believe there was any malice or ill will toward the victim.
Carmada fled the scene, but was arrested on a manslaughter charge Monday, admitting to the shooting and showing remorse for McDaniels death.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3SwaOAW3BE
Pastor Dies from Snake Bite During Serpent-Handling Service
with one comment
NY Daily News:
What a strange practice. Pentecostal madness
Trinidad and Tobago security guard accidentally shoots off his penis
By: David Ferguson
A security guard is hospitalized in the city of San Fernando in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago after accidentally discharging his weapon and shooting off his penis. According to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, the unnamed 33-year-old man was carrying a .38 caliber handgun in his pocket when it went off, striking him in the groin.
Police in the town of Rio Claro received a call around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday that witnesses had heard a shot coming from a parked car. Officers responding to the scene found the driver slumped at the wheel and bleeding from the injured area.
The wounded man was taken to San Fernando General Hospital where he remains under guard. Authorities ran a trace on him and found that he did not possess a license for the gun he was carrying. He faces charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Unfortunately, these types of accidents are not uncommon. The Digital Journal listed reports of accidental gunshot wounds to the penis and testicles in Arizona and Washington state, as well as an incident from September in Port Lucie, Florida in which a man cleaning a newly purchased gun at a party shot himself in the genitals.
Raw Story (http://s.tt/1yN4w)
Knobody noes?
INITIATION FAIL (PHAIL?)
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pasco/arrest-made-in-rock-harley-saloon-shooting-in-land-o-lakes