A gunman walked down the aisle of a suburban St. Louis church during Sunday services and shot the pastor to death before stabbing himself and slashing two others as parishioners wrestled him to the ground, authorities said.

The Rev. Fred Winters, said to be in his 40s, died at nearby Anderson Hospital of a gunshot wound to the chest, officials said.

The attacker, whose identity has not been released, was in serious condition at St. Louis University Hospital, where he was being taken into surgery for treatment of self-inflicted stab wounds. [video]