Ellensburg, Washington, March 5, 2026
Prophet Elijah parish community during a visit from Met. Saba in February 2024. Photo: antiochian.org
Parishioners at Prophet Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Church in Ellensburg, Washington, helped avert a potential tragedy on Sunday after a man brought a handgun into the building during services.
Alexander Ziyad Mueller, 27, of Moses Lake, entered the church while approximately 50 people were attending. According to court documents, churchgoers, including an off-duty officer and a retired police officer, intervened after Mueller’s wife allegedly made threats to shoot people inside, reports kimatv.com.
Officers later discovered a fully automatic AR-15 and dozens of rounds of ammunition in Mueller’s SUV in the church parking lot.
“If not for the retired law enforcement officer, and the off-duty law enforcement officer in the church, we might have a very different outcome today,” Deputy Prosecutor Robert Porter told Judge Chris Herion. “We came really close to a mass shooting.”
According to Porter, a priest who visited the couple’s home on Friday to give a blessing observed behavior that raised concerns. Two days later, when they arrived at Prophet Elijah Orthodox Church, Mueller’s wife stated that she had intended to shoot people there.
The retired officer on the scene observed that the woman appeared to be in a mental health crisis, behaving erratically. She began rapidly crossing herself and makign serious threats. The retired officer, who was carrying a concealed pistol, intervened and confronted Mueller and his wife. A Glock 9mm handgun and a small quantity of ammunition were recovered from Mueller.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the woman told police she had mental health conditions and hadn’t been taking her medications. She reported believing that demons frequently controlled her actions and that government entities used her body to carry out operations. She was transported to Kittitas Valley Healthcare Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Mueller was ordered held on $1 million bail following his initial court appearance on Monday and is currently being held in Kittitas County Jail.
Follow OrthoChristian on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe and Gab!
