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ST. COUNTY OF LOUIS • A few days before being accused of sexually assaulting two women and killing a third, Thomas Bruce wrote on Facebook that he wanted to "end the free zones". guns and warn the criminals that they will be arrested. "
Bruce, 53, of Jefferson Rural County, commented on an article he shared on gun control laws in England, arguing for the possession of firearms by law enforcement officers. individuals.
"Today, in England, you can not wear any type of weapon for your self-defense and you can not use a firearm to defend your home, your family or your property," concluded the message. "Firearms and weapons laws have made crime safer for criminals and other violent thugs."
On Wednesday, Bruce was charged with first degree murder and several counts of sodomy, armed robbery, kidnapping, burglary and falsification of evidence in the store crime. catholic supply of Manchester Road Monday. He is detained without bail.
Thomas Bruce, of Jefferson County, has been charged with murder, sodomy and other charges in connection with an attack on people inside a Catholic supply store on Manchester Road.
His concern over the safety of gun-free areas was among the many interesting elements in the life of a man currently charged in what the police described as a horrific incident.
He also worked as a pastor from 2003 to 2007 for a few dozen people at Cape Girardeau's Calvary Chapel, according to David Fitzgerald, pastor of an affiliated church in St. Louis County.
Fitzgerald, 69, said the chapel had been closed. The office of the Missouri Secretary of State identified Bruce as the operator of a non-profit church established in 2003 and dissolved in 2007.
Fitzgerald said Calvary Chapels pastors in the area, who are attached to a California-based ministry and now have about 1,500 churches in the United States, would meet every few months.
But since the church closed, he has spoken to Bruce only once in a while. He spoke with him for the last time three years ago.
He said he was shocked to see Bruce charged with the crime.
"I did not know the character of Tom Bruce as a completely surprising character," he said. "If it was not for the amount of evidence against him, I would think that they were wrong."
Fitzgerald stated that he knew that Bruce owned firearms, but that he had never talked about firearms ownership, politics or social problems, and that He was not aware of his publications on social networks.
"In my relationship with Tom, nothing in the past indicated this type of behavior," he said. "People are people, but I tend to keep ministry people at a higher level."
On social media, Bruce spoke on politics and social issues. A supporter of President Donald Trump, he posted a video of the President's rally this month in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and frequently criticized GOP Democrats and members of the establishment who criticized Trump.
He also retweeted comments expressing support for US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and criticizing Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford during the Senate's trial confirmation hearings in October. He also shared or wrote comments in which he pleaded to allow fewer immigrants or refugees to the United States, fewer restrictions on gun control and a ban on abortion.
His personal LinkedIn page involved a varied job history in which he moved from one place to another and changed jobs every few years.
Police raided Bruce's caravan on Wednesday at Quail Run Estates mobile home park in the Antonia area of Jefferson County.
A neighbor said Bruce lived in the caravan with his wife. Neighbor Kathy Schroeder said the couple moved in around May.
In January 2017, Bruce and his wife, Diane, sought protection from Chapter 7 in St. Louis, listing assets of about $ 92,000 and debts of nearly $ 159,000.
The couple's assets include an unincorporated St. Louis County home valued at $ 70,000 and several guns worth $ 400, including a Bushmaster AR-15. and three handguns, including one Glock 43.
Debts include approximately $ 16,000 in student loans, $ 15,000 owed to the mortgage lender, and unsecured claims in excess of $ 45,000, much of which is credit card debt.
According to the record, Bruce was unemployed but was receiving an annual military allowance of about $ 1,600. Bruce describes himself online as a naval veteran. His wife worked as a manager at a grocery store in the area.
The bankruptcy was released in April 2017. Wells Fargo Bank seized the couple's home in August, according to the records.
Former Lacklink Drive neighbors in northwestern St. Louis County, unincorporated, said Bruce did not associate much with those who lived nearby.
"I never really saw him outside and I lived here long before him," said Joseph R. Blumer, who lived in front of Bruce and his wife.
About a year ago, Bruce started out as a staff member working for an American Family Insurance agent in Maryland Heights, said company spokesman Ken Muth. But Bruce had not been in the office for a long time, said Muth.
The agent, who is considered an independent contractor of American Family Insurance, is cooperating in the police investigation, said Muth. He had no more information.
An American family officer who asked not to be identified, said Bruce had spent three weeks at the agent's office in early 2017 before resigning. The agent described Bruce as being calm, but ultimately unsuitable for the office.
His LinkedIn profile also mentions a connection with Calvary Chapel, a previous job at the Greater Saint Louis Jewish Community Center and volunteer work at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He is also a life member of VFW Post 4105 in Florissant.
"Does not sound familiar"
"World leader with the ability to turn the extraordinary into ordinary," says the profile.
Barb Johnson, a bartender at VFW, said Wednesday night that there was no record of Bruce's involvement.
"It does not look familiar to any of us," Johnson said.
Postmasters could not be immediately contacted by telephone.
On his LinkedIn page, Bruce claimed to have been a pastor and to visit detainees at Cape Girardeau County Prison from August 2005 to June 2007, but since Tuesday authorities have found no trace from his job at the prison, the Cape Girardeau. Sheriff's Office said.
On his Twitter account, created in 2016, Bruce mainly shared his views on politics, commenting from time to time on some media personalities.
In a tweet, for example, he called commentator Ann Coulter "the sexiest and sexiest girl in the world". In another tweet, he stated that Fox News personality, Jeanine Pirro, had the "best legs" and had also told Pirro that she was "1,000 times sexier" than the former collaborator from the White House, Omarosa Manigault Newman.
In September, Bruce tweeted: "As an American, I've often been accused of being obsessed with sex."
In 2003, Bruce wrote a letter to the editor published in southeastern Missouri, who strongly opposed abortion. He also argued for an "effective deterrent against horrific crimes".
"Until we decide to turn away from a selfish and selfish life and turn to the living God with a sincere and humble heart, there is no waiting, but to continue to deteriorate to an even more degraded level, "he wrote. "May God have mercy on us all."
Robert Patrick, Joel Currier, Leah Thorsen and Kim Bell of Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
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