Pastor shot while trying to stop car theft at Tennessee church, family says
A member of the church and the man's family say he was trying to stop an alleged car theft Sunday morning.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A Tennessee pastor was rushed to the hospital after reportedly being shot in the face while trying to stop an alleged car theft Sunday morning.
Police in Memphis say they were called to a shooting outside New Zionfield Baptist Church Sunday shortly after 9 a.m. local time. A man was found and taken to an area hospital in critical condition.
A member of the church identified the man as Clemmie Livingston, Jr., a 70-year-old pastor at New Zionfield Baptist. Livingston was reportedly shot while attempting to stop two men from stealing the car of a Sunday school teacher.
Livingston was scheduled to preach during service on Sunday, his 17-year-old grandson, Kavion Woodin, told Nexstar's WREG. The sermon titled "Another Chance," something he says his grandfather often extended to others.
"Somebody tried to take one of the church member's cars, and my granddaddy stepped up," said Woodin. "He feared no evil. He came out the church to protect a car because he feared no evil."
Woodin says his grandfather was shot in the mouth.
"He was a man of giving, willingness, kindness, compassion, and he was a man that never did wrong towards nobody," Woodin said, adding that his family is pleading with the community to bring an end to senseless gun violence.
"Honestly, I'm sick and tired of losing people to gun violence and cars. I've lost seven friends due to gun violence. I've lost two friends to cars, and I'm nothing but 17," said Wooden. "It's time to stop the violence. It's time to stop the robbing, stop the killing. It's time to put the guns down."
Police said Livingston is in stable condition at this time, and they're searching for two suspects who were wearing hoodies at the time of the shooting. The suspects fled the scene in a silver 2019 Chevrolet Corvette, according to authorities.