Eiken Elam Saimon

Who is Eiken Elam Saimon?

Eiken Elam Saimon is a man who was convicted by Missouri of three counts of first-degree murder for opening fire on a church congregation in Neosho, Missouri in 2007.

Saimon is a native of Pohnpei and a national of the Federated States of Micronesia; he was living in Neosho at the time of the shootings. Witnesses reported that on 12 August 2007, Saimon entered the First Congregational Church in Neosho during Sunday services. There were over 50 people attending the services, most of them from Neosho's Micronesian community. Police said that Saimon carried two small-caliber handguns and a 9-millimeter semiautomatic machine pistol. After asking the children and some members of his own family to leave the room, Saimon began shooting at the other people in the church. Three people were killed: the pastor of the church and two deacons. Police suspected that he was specifically targeting church leaders.

Saimon was arrested after approximately ten minutes of negotiations with the police. After his arrest, police announced that Saimon was also being charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old relative. The connection between the alleged sexual assault and the shooting incident was unclear.