Visalia, California community mourns death of Mormon bishop

VISALIA, Calif. — One day after a shooting at an LDS chapel left a Mormon bishop dead, the Visalia community mourned the loss of a hard-working family man and ecclesiastical leader.

Clay Sannar, 40, was killed Sunday at the meetinghouse where he served as bishop of the Visalia 2nd Ward. The LDS building at the intersection of Conyer Street and Tulare Avenue neighbors the Grace Lutheran Church, the Gateway Church of Visalia and Mount Whitney High School.

"What this bishop did, he gave his life for. There is no bigger calling than that," said John Lloyd, executive pastor at the Gateway Church of Visalia. "We're optimistic that there will be good that comes from this. I know God's face will be seen in it. I am in awe; this is someone who gave his life for the ministry because he was willing to open his door to anyone. In that way, we admire and want to reach out."

On Monday, Visalia police identified Kenneth James Ward, 47, of Modesto, Calif., as the man they say shot Sannar between meetings on Sunday. Following the shooting, officers say Ward called police from a pay phone to identify himself as the shooter and provide his location. He was eventually killed in an exchange of gunfire with police.

Mike Ward, the younger brother of the alleged shooter, said his brother was mentally ill and felt wronged by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which he belonged to in the 1980s, according to the Visalia Times-Delta newspaper. His brother said Kenneth believed he had been "shunned to hell" by a bishop in 1988, and that is why he asked for a bishop when he went to the church in Visalia on Sunday.

The gun used in the violent act belonged to the alleged shooter's grandfather, said Mike Ward, a Bakersfield, Calif., resident. He said the Ward family is sorry for what happened.

From his office on Tulare Avenue, Ben Meraz told the Deseret News that he can see where police covered the bullet holes in the windows at the LDS meetinghouse across the street.

Less than an hour after Kenneth Ward walked into the meetinghouse and allegedly shot Sannar, concerned phone calls and e-mails began pouring in to Meraz at Grace Lutheran Church.

"They were all curious to know if everyone was OK, knowing we are in close proximity to where the incident happened," said Meraz, director of youth ministries at the church. "Word gets around a small town fast." (Visalia has a population of around 122,000.)

Meraz didn't know Sannar, who had only been serving as the ward's bishop for a few months.

Lloyd has served as the executive pastor at the Gateway Church of Visalia for more than five years. He described the mood in the community as one of absolute shock.