A man stabbed and killed his ex-girlfriend in South-Eastern Brazil and subsequently shot three people in a nearby church, local media reported on Wednesday.

“The 39-year-old ex-military member entered the church in the city of Paracatu in the state of Minas Gerais on Tuesday to kill the pastor, who was married to his ex-girlfriend,’’ the news portal Globo reported, citing the police.

However, the clergyman managed to escape.

Members of the security forces shot at the alleged perpetrator, who was taken to hospital seriously injured.

The family home of the 59-year-old woman and the Shalom Baptist Church is reportedly located in the same district of Paracatu.

“The man had come across his former partner in the house of her mother and stabbed her with a knife,’’ the Globo report said.

According to the report, he had gone to the church and climbed over a protective fence before shooting the father of the pastor and two women attending a closed meeting taking place in the church.

According to Globo, an enraged crowd wanted to storm the hospital to take revenge on the man, however the military police prevented this.

Paracatu has about 93,000 inhabitants and is located about 200 kilometres South-East of Brazil’s capital Brasilia. (dpa/NAN)