HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) – A friend of a central Pennsylvania man who killed three people before dying in a gun battle with police says the shooter had been struggling with personal problems and had become fascinated with end-of-the-world predictions.

Several hundred people packed the Geeseytown Evangelical Lutheran Church on Saturday night for a prayer service remembering 58-year-old Kimberly Scott of Duncansville; 60-year-old Kenneth Lynn, and his 38-year-old son-in-law William Rhodes Jr., killed Friday morning by 44-year-old Jeffrey Lee Michael.

Bob Socie of Lakemont, a longtime friend of Michael’s, told The Altoona Mirror that Michael had struggled for years with stress from two accidents involving his tractor-trailer and an acrimonious divorce and custody battle. Recently, he said, Michael was focused on apocalyptic predictions stemming from biblical prophecy and an ancient Mayan calendar.

Community members also held a vigil for the victims of Friday’s shootings.

Several hundred people packed the Geeseytown Evangelical Lutheran Church Saturday night for a prayer service.

“It was one place I always felt so safe and that’s been taken from us now,” Juniata Valley Gospel Church member Jennifer Harvey said.

More than 30 boy scouts also attended the service.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

RELATED LINKS
More On This Story
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter