On Wednesday, the Catholic Supply store on Manchester reopened, a little more than two weeks after a gunman entered the store, assaulted two women, and shot another, killing her.
On November 19, Thomas Bruce, 53, allegedly walked into the store in Ballwin and pretended to be a customer, left, returned with a gun, and then forced two women to perform sexual acts on him. Bruce is accused of shooting customer Jamie Schmidt, 53, in the head when she refused. Schmidt was taken to the hospital but died later. A funeral was held for her last week.
Immediately following the shooting, Bruce led St. Louis County Police on a manhunt that ended in his arrest only after they uncovered a business card he had given to another woman earlier in the day, as reported by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Police arrested Bruce at his trailer in Jefferson County. His motive remains unclear.
On the day of the store reopening, Dan Stutte, president of the Catholic Supply, wrote in a statement: "The recent events at our Manchester store have been devastating to the Catholic Supply family. This location is now reopened so we can continue to fulfill our mission and help our staff, customers and community cope with this senseless tragedy and begin the healing process." The previous day, Tuesday, religious leaders including Archbishop Robert Carlson and Reverend Byron Watson gathered at the store to say a special prayer.
Also on Wednesday, Bruce appeared in court, where a judge set a preliminary hearing date of January 23, 2019. He is charged with one count of first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy, three counts of first-degree kidnapping, and one count of first-degree burglary, among others. Bruce is being held without bond.
