Mom who threatened to blow up church was NBC producer

Anna Conkey (Facebook)

A woman "claiming to be the Messiah" who threatened to blow up a California church on Easter Sunday while carrying her baby and a gun is a former digital producer for the NBC-TV affiliate in San Diego.

Anna Conkey, 31, was tackled by her fellow churchgoers during the April 21 incident at the Tsidkenu Church in the Clairemont area of San Diego.

NBC 7 says Conkey is also a former intern at the station, as well as a U.S. Navy veteran and graduate of San Diego State University.

Her Linkedin profile indicates Conkey was "a Navy mass communication specialist for six years where she gained experience in photojournalism, public affairs, graphic and web design, videography, print design and layout, and broadcast journalism. ... Anna loves interviewing people and using her research to bring awareness of social issues, especially regarding veterans, homelessness and sex trafficking. In her free time she is usually researching, singing or writing poetry."

In 2009, she was photographed singing "Sweet Caroline" with Neil Diamond when she was identified by her maiden name of Anna Kiner.

BOSTON, Mass. (July 4, 2009) Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Anna Kiner, assigned to the USS Constitution, sings "Sweet Caroline" with Neil Diamond during Boston's nationally televised 4th of July concert. Kiner, and nearly 600,000 spectators at the Charles River Esplanade were joined by millions of television viewers to celebrate America's 233rd birthday with the Boston Pops concert and Fireworks Spectacular. The event coincided with Boston Harborfest and Boston Navy Week, one of 21 Navy Weeks planned across America in 2009. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Mark O'Donald)

Perhaps Conkey wanted to make news herself instead of just reporting it, as NBC 7 says it received a news tip from "Anna Conkey" five minutes before the incident, stating:

"There's a woman claiming to be the Messiah, saying she was sent to blow up the foundation of the Church -- she's got a gun and a child is involved. The address is 4350 Mount Everest Blvd San Diego, CA 92117. There are about 70 people in the auditorium of the school where the church service is held."

Ronald Farmer was inside the church when the mayhem broke out, and he told KSWB: "We were just about to finish up our service and a lady came in with a gun and started talking delusional stuff."

Church leaders reportedly tried to talk the woman down, but she was pointing the weapon at parishioners and the baby.

Police carry Anna Conkey's baby from the scene April 21, 2019 (NBC 7 video screenshot)

Conkey's gun was not loaded, and her 10-month-old baby was unharmed when the woman was wrestled to the ground. The baby and Conkey's other 5-year-old daughter were placed in protective custody.

Ben Wisan, a leader in the church, told Fox2Now: "We knew who she was. She had been coming on and off for a little bit of time. And we had been praying for her because we wanted to see her set free. There's a lot of stuff bugging her."

Conkey was active on YouTube, posting messages about Bible prophecy.

In one video posted a few days before the incident, she says she tried to bring an important message to her church, but she was turned away.

"They told me they would call the police if I didn't leave," she said on camera. "God told me I'm His messenger. I'm an apostle and a prophet."