ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Thomas Bruce of Imperial, Missouri, was taken into custody Wednesday morning and charged hours later in connection with the Catholic Supply shooting and sexual assaults.
In all, he was charged with first-degree murder, three counts of sodomy, three counts of kidnapping, one count of burglary, one count of tampering with evidence and eight counts of armed criminal action.
We dove into Thomas Bruce's background.
He had absolutely no criminal record that we could find, although prosecutors say they are checking national databases to confirm that.
He filed bankruptcy a couple times, which appears to be the most trouble he's been in.
Bruce has moved around a lot. He moved to Imperial just a couple of months ago after living in St. Louis County for more than a decade.
Bruce has religious connections in his past. Back in 2003, he founded an evangelical Christian church called Calvary Chapel.
We talked to the man who later owned that same church. He told us he hasn't talked to Bruce in several years.
Bruce also has been associated with several other ministries and churches across the state.
In 2003, he wrote an editorial in a Missouri newspaper that strongly opposed abortion. That letter to the editor is signed Tom Bruce, pastor, Calvary Chapel of Cape Girardeau.
Thomas Bruce also has a social media presence, including a Facebook and Twitter account.
On Facebook, Bruce says he's a U.S. Navy veteran, and Wednesday afternoon, we confirmed that he did serve back in the 1980s. He posts often about veterans issues, including a call to action just last week for people to support veterans who are considering suicide.
But just last week, he commented this on a post about gun rights:
"We should stop expecting criminals to follow the rules. I'm hoping we end gun-free zones and put the criminals on notice that they will be stopped.”
St. Louis County police have told us several times he did not know the woman killed in this case.
