A Starrville, Texas pastor armed with a pistol cornered a man who was hiding in a church bathroom after being chased by police. Instead of surrendering, the suspect attacked the man of God, disarming and then killing him. The bad guy then shot two others while making his escape. Cops later picked up the suspect Mytrez Deunte Woolen, 21 and charged him accordingly.
There certainly are lessons here for concealed carriers. First off, bad guys don’t schedule their attacks. Cops say Mr. Woolen led authorities on a two-hour long pursuit the night before and eluded capture not far from the church. Mr. Woolen made his way into the church at some point and hid in the bathroom.
Furthermore, a good guy’s firearm isn’t a magic talisman. In fact, for some bad guys, it probably isn’t their first rodeo being on the business end of a gun. A failure of a good guy to act decisively may actually embolden a violent criminal to escalate their attack. In other words, hesitation can kill.
Local police say the church was mostly empty at the time of the shooting.
A pastor was killed and two people were injured after a shooting at an East Texas church on Sunday, authorities said.
The Smith County Sheriff’s Office said they responded to a shooting at Starrville Methodist Church, about 15 miles northeast of Tyler, at around 9:20 a.m. Arriving deputies found two people shot.
According to the department, there were no services at the time of the shooting.
Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said the suspected shooter had been involved in a pursuit on Saturday night that lasted about two hours. Smith did not say why authorities were chasing him.
On Sunday morning, the pastor of Starrville Methodist Church confronted the suspect who apparently hid in the church’s bathroom, according to Smith.
The sheriff said the pastor drew his gun and ordered the suspect to stop but the suspect was able to disarm him. The pastor and another person were then shot before the suspect allegedly stole the pastor’s vehicle and fled the scene, Smith said. A third person was injured in a fall.
Carrying a pistol every day is the first step towards tipping the scales in your favor against a violent criminal. However, the gun is only part of the personal defense equation. Learn from this tragedy to help ensure something like this never happens to you.