What really happened at the First Church of the Nazarene: Pastor shares full details of the stabbing

By Ben McCarthy

The 11am service at the First Church of the Nazarene went on as scheduled Sunday despite a longtime parishioner being transported to the hospital after being stabbed and suffering serious injuries.

A homeless man, identified by the KCPD as Jarod A. Hill, was arrested Sunday at the scene and is now being held on $100,000 cash bond. 

One of the church’s executive pastors, Dale Jones, described the victim as a member of the church for “maybe 50-plus years” and to be about 80 years of age. The victim suffered a significant wound to his shoulder along with cuts to his hand as the assailant put him in a headlock and began attempting to strike at his throat.

“No surgery was required, but they kept him at the hospital overnight on Sunday just to be safe,” Jones said. “He’s back home now and resting.”

Jones described Hill as a young man in his 20’s or early 30’s. The church learned after Sunday’s attack that he had pitched his tent on the eastside of the property, shielded from traffic at 118th and State Line Road the previous two evenings. The small tent, approximately 6 ft tall according to church officials, rested just outside of the main offices of the Church’s leadership, and next to a playground area for children. 

There was no initial, hostile confrontation Sunday morning between the Hill and the Church’s emergency response team which includes former law enforcement figures. One member of the team engaged Hill and immediately sensed something wasn’t right, but nothing violent and immediately concerning was detected. 

“We invited the guy into church, and the response team noted that [Hill] didn’t seem aware of everything going on,” Jones said. “It was believed that a drug issue or mental health problem was likely present.”

Nonetheless, the emergency response team invited Hill into Church, which was about to begin their 11am service. A small Dachshund* accompanied Hill inside the building, a phenomenon that Jones has rarely seen during his decades of time at the Church (“That doesn’t normally happen, no,” Jones said).

Hill even introduced the dog to the grandson of a parishioner. While some inside the church felt as though things with the stranger were going to be okay, Hill was also complaining of vandalism that had been perpetuated on his tent, which had already been packed up. 

“He claimed that the Freemasons had spray painted his tent with chemicals,” Jones said. “We told him we would check our security cameras, and in the meantime asked him to join in our Sunday breakfast.” The response team was still monitoring him closely.

A review of the church’s security footage yielded no evidence of anyone tampering with Hill’s tent. When this information was presented to Hill, he became more belligerent and called the church “liars.” He left the breakfast area with the response team in tow. During his walk back to his folded tent and belongings, Hill began asking for information or directions to a nearby laundromat. It was at this moment that the victim stepped closer to Hill with his phone to show the location of a laundry mat he had found. Hill produced a “large knife” and began stabbing at the victim.

“Thankfully, the only serious connection was in the shoulder area,” Jones said. “He then put the victim into a headlock and appeared to be trying to slice his throat.”

This created further defense wounds in the victim’s hand. Other members of the response team rushed to subdue the attacker and aid the victim. Two of those men sustained what were referred to as only “minor injuries”–one was bitten by the attacker’s dog, another bruised his ribs.  Pepper spray was deployed, but Hill refused to meet up. Church officials described Hill as being somewhere between 5 ft 6 and 5 ft 8 in stature, and thin enough to be initially concerned about his well-being.

The Church’s Monday email newsletter reveals more details of the attack and chaos at the scene: one of the other emergency team members pulled his gun and was ready to fire it at Hill. After aiming it at Hill and pulling the trigger, it did not go off. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Church still did not have an explanation as to why it did not fire.

“There’s no reason for it not to have fired,” Jones said. “It was loaded. We’re grateful that perhaps God intervened and there wasn’t more blood spilled.” 

Instead, the response team were able to tie Hill’s legs together, via one of the men’s belts. They continued kicking his hand until he surrendered the knife. The elderly victim, who is also the leader of the emergency response team, was treated by a team of on-call medical professionals, who were also on site. Treatment was almost immediately administered, and police and EMT responses came in about ten minutes, whisking the victim away to hospital care.  

Hill’s violent, erratic behavior continued as he was secured by responding police officers.

“He made a grab for the policemen’s gun as he was being led into the car,” Jones said. “He continued rambling about the Freemasons.” 

Jackson County prosecutors announced that Hill has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. 

Parishioners were largely shielded from what was taking place on Sunday. As Sunday school was concluding in time for the 11am service, children and their parents were rerouted away from sight of the carnage on the first floor. 

Jones revealed Monday that the Church’s landscaper had encountered Hill on Saturday, and even saw the knife in question that would be used a day later. The landscaper did not say anything until after the attack had occurred. 

“He saw the guy sitting in the playground with the knife,” Jones said. “He said it was a large knife and the guy was very belligerent and wanted to fight.” 

In the Church’s Monday email, those that responded to the frightening situation were recognized for rising to the occasion and protecting the most vulnerable, while also acknowledging that change in the current climate is necessary: 

“We expect the team to meet soon to review their procedures and decide what could be done better. We are also exploring what additional training might be available.” 

Jones says that they have asked for continued prayer for the victim and all those affected by Sunday’s attack. He adds that they will continue to pray for Hill, however his legal case unfolds. 

“We’ve asked everyone to not only pray for the victim,” Jones said. “Whether the attacker was struggling with drugs or a mental health issue, we’ve asked everyone to pray for him, as well.”

(*) Hill’s Dachshund, which bit a man responding to the knife attack, was placed with animal control.