Eiken Elam Saimon is a man who has been charged by Missouri with 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 service, the majority being people from Neosho's Micronesian community. Police say 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 people in the church. Three people were killed: the pastor of the church and two deacons. Police suspected that he targeted leaders of the church.
Saimon was arrested after five to ten minutes of negotiation between him and police. After his arrest, police announced that he 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.
A preliminary hearing was held on 18 September 2007, where Saimon pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder, four counts of assault, one count of felonious restraint, and one count of armed criminal action. In September 2008, Saimon's trial was scheduled to begin in July 2009. By early 2009, prosecutors had not yet announced if they will seek the death penalty for the murders in Saimon's case.