A Riverdale man charged with murder shot his supervisor a dozen times during a prayer meeting at the World Changers Church International, police testified Friday.
Floyd Palmer faced a judge for the first time since he allegedly shot and killed Gregory McDowell at the College Park mega-church on the morning of Oct. 24.
During the probable cause hearing, police investigators said Palmer was in the sanctuary for less than 10 minutes when he shot McDowell.
“Mr. Palmer started shooting and Mr. McDowell fell to the floor,” Fulton County Police detective John Cross said in court Friday afternoon. “Mr. Palmer continued shooting.”
Cross testified that 12 bullets were retrieved from McDowell, with five of them, including the fatal bullet that pierced his heart, found in McDowell’s back.
Police learned that Palmer had applied, but had been rejected, for permits to buy two handguns at a Savannah gun show in August.
“They learned that he falsified some information and was denied the guns,” Cross said.
The false information related to previous mental health issues, Cross said.
In 1993, Palmer was convicted of shooting a man outside a Baltimore mosque and pleaded guilty, claiming mental illness.
A Fulton County Superior Court judge determined that there was probable to charge Palmer with murder, felony murder — the commission of a felony that results in a person’s death — aggravated assault with deadly weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
A Fulton County grand jury will be convened next month to hear evidence and determine whether Palmer should be indicted.
He remains in the Fulton County Jail without bond.
