FIVE armed men attacked a Catholic mission in Northern Province early on Sunday morning, shooting a church member and holding up a priest and his wife. The men broke through a security fence and gate at Makapanspoort Lutheran Catholic Mission near Potgietersrus at 3am. Bushveld police spokesman Captain Blackie Swart said the attackers smashed a window at the mission house, where church member Tumz Tupane, 25, was asleep on a sofa in the lounge. Two of the suspects, who were armed with pistols, fired shots, hitting Tupane in the right leg and left arm. The suspects then searched the house for money and found Father Heinrich Rudolf Stern, 61, and his wife Lena, 42, in the main bedroom. The robbers aimed the pistols at the couple and demanded money and the keys to their car. Father Stern gave the suspects R2000 and the keys for his blue Citi Golf. Swart said the suspects fled in the Golf, registration number DKJ 843 N. Tupane was treated at Potgietersrus Hospital. Swart said police had launched an intensive search for the suspects and urged members of the public not to confront possible suspects. Anyone with information should rather call their nearest police station, he said.