A shocking crime hits home - Crow River Lutheran church member is assaulted and robbed Tuesday afternoon - the BBE community asks, "What next?"

The assault and robbery took place south of Belgrade, beginning in the parking lot of the Crow River Lutheran Church. The victim is 73 years old, and the low-life thug who committed the crime is a 61-year old from Bemidji.

From reports I received, the victim was physically assaulted, including being kicked in the face, all from an attempt to steal her purse as she was leaving the church grounds. I've learned other details of the crime but it's not necessary to make that public - the point is, something completely awful took place on Tuesday afternoon right in our own B-B-E community.

Thank God, she will only be in the hospital for a few more days before returning home to finish the healing process.

The Bemidji trash then traveled southbound, ultimately to Cosmos, where a bonehead move on his part led to his arrest. He was seen in a rear-view mirror of a truck ahead of him throwing a purse out of the driver's window. After being pulled over, the APB put out to law enforcement after the Crow River attack was matched to his identity at the traffic stop in Cosmos, where the police then made the arrest.

Local law enforcement around the surrounding area responded with lightning-fast precision at getting the word out and ultimately finding the suspect's vehicle. A sincere "hats off" to their efforts is needed!

The suspect is being held at the Kandiyohi County Jail - where hopefully word gets out among the inmates on what he did. They won't be kind to this type of trash.

All I can think is "What's next?" In a world where you can't even find safety on church property in a small town, rural area - it's shocking, for sure.