Friends and loved ones are mourning the senseless murder of a California pastor who was gunned down Sunday after teaching a Bible study.
Joe Moore, 65, pastor of the Upper Room Christian Church in Compton, California, was killed while walking to his vehicle, with KTLA-TV reporting that he was carrying a Bible in one hand and his cane in the other at the time.
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Moore’s son, Damar Moore, called the shooting both “senseless” and cowardly and daughter Daney Moore expressed her disbelief and horror.
“This is one of them things that we would never expect,” she told KTLA-TV. “He just finished Sunday school, walked across the street and this is what happened to him.”
The motive in the case is unclear, but authorities are fast at work looking for the person or persons responsible. Authorities said the investigation is early, but that it appears Moore was potentially targeted.
The preacher is described as a man of faith who would fire up his congregation. His cousin, Christine Peggese, expressed her sadness over the killing and had a message for those responsible.
“You’ve killed a pastor. You didn’t kill a normal guy just hanging around a liquor store. You killed a beautiful man that had a family, that had grandkids and it was the pastor of the church,” she told KTTV-TV. “All I can say is the devil’s busy. The devil’s very busy.”
Daney Moore set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for her father’s funeral expenses. In the description, she offered more details about the senseless shooting and about her father, whom she described as “a preacher and a man of God” and expressed her family’s needs.
“He loved his wife, siblings and children very much and wanted to help everyone get saved,” she wrote. “My family and I are still mourning. “[Unfortunately] we are finding out that my dad was not insured. The family needs prayer and financial support to help bury our loved one. The money will be used to fund the entire funeral expense the mortuary, service and burial.”
Please pray for the family during this difficult time.
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