A Tennessee pastor is reportedly recovering after being shot outside of his church.
The shocking moment came Sunday morning, when Pastor Clemmie Livingston Jr., 70, reportedly attempted to stop two men from trying to steal a Sunday school teacher’s vehicle, WREG-TV reported.
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The assailants reportedly shot the pastor while driving away from the scene.
“The victim was shot when he came out of the church as the suspects were stealing a 2019 silver Chevrolet Corvette,” a statement from Memphis Police Department reads. “As the suspects fled the scene in the stolen vehicle, they fired shots, striking the victim.”
Livingstone, who preaches at New Zionfield Baptist Church, was in critical condition after the assault but is reportedly now doing better.
Kavion Woodin, the victim’s grandson, said his grandpa is known for being loving and kind, as the family grapples to understand why someone would harm him.
“He was a man of giving, willingness, kindness, compassion, and he was a man that never did wrong towards nobody,” he said. “Somebody tried to take one of the church member’s cars, and my granddaddy stepped up.”
Woodin continued, “He feared no evil. He came out the church to protect a car because he feared no evil.”
Livingston’s family told WATN-TV the pastor was already battling cancer before the bullet shattered his jaw. This created further complications when doctors needed to operate on him after Sunday’s shooting.
“They’re trying to watch it, because they don’t want it to spread trying to operate on him,” the preacher’s daughter, Kevona Livingston, said. “It’s bone cancer and they shattered his bone.”
The pastor faces a very long recovery road ahead, the family said.
Continue to pray for Livingston, his family, and church community as he recovers and everyone copes with the trauma of the tragic situation.
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