A man, who police say attacked a pastor with a brick at a church service before the pastor whipped out his Glock handgun and fatally fired back, ranted weeks before on Facebook that his pastor had gotten his wife pregnant.
The incident happened about 15 minutes into the 1:30 p.m. Sunday service at the City of God ministries storefront church on Grand River near Lahser, Assistant Chief Steve Dolunt said.
“The pastor had had issues with the man before,” Dolunt said. “He had been threatening him to do bodily harm. He walked into the service and went after the pastor with a brick. The pastor pulled out his Glock and fired several shots. I think he hit him four or five times, and the man died.”
The victim was identified as Deante Smith, 26, of Detroit, police said.
Two Detroit police sources said detectives were investigating a possible love triangle between Smith, his wife and their pastor.
Dolunt said police were called to the church in September. On Sept. 16, Smith wrote he planned to attend the church.
“Can’t wait to see Sunday message at the City of God Ministry,” he wrote. “I’ll be there with the truth.”
Later that day, Smith wrote: “This (expletive) gonna hit the fan.”
In a Sept. 15 post, Smith wrote: “That wasn’t my baby that was (his wife) and pastor(’s) baby.” That preceded a Sept. 18 rant: “This (expletive) got my (expletive) pregnant. Tick tock (expletive) and everybody with you.”
Smith posted several times in the weeks leading up to his death about the pain he wasfeeling about the alleged affair. On Oct. 8, he wrote: “I’m hurting, yall.”
His posts appeared to concern friends, one of whom wrote on Oct. 13, “may I ask (what) is going on with you?”
Smith replied: “I’m crazy they call me S.O.N.I.C.”
The pastor was not arrested and is cooperating with authorities, Officer Jennifer Moreno said Monday.
“He was never in custody,” Moreno said Monday. “He was just brought downtown (on Sunday) for questioning regarding the incident. He stayed a couple hours, cooperated fully and went home.”
After questioning the pastor, police will submit a warrant request to prosecutors, who will then decide whether the shooting was justified.
“We’re not sure at this point whether the man had mental problems or what,” Dolunt said. “It’s still under investigation.”
Smith had been a player for the semi-pro Michigan Lightning football team. The team released a statement on Facebook on Monday.
“His infectious smile and the courage in which he approached life, on and off the field, are attributes that will stick with all of us,” the team statement read.
According to the team, Smith was captain and founding father of the organization, established in 2012.
“More important than all his on-the-field achievements, was his ability to reach someone who was going through a rough time. ‘I got you,’ was echoed by him on many occasions, and to Tae, they weren’t just words, he wasn’t going to let you fall,” the team’s statement read.
Brad Bentley, head coach of the Lightning, said he was still in shock after hearing of Smith’s death. He had known the young man since 2007, and they’d been together on the Lightning since its founding.
“I’m tore up over this,” Bentley said. “I’m shocked.”
Bentley said he’ll lobby team owner Rami Abousaleh to retire Smith’s No. 3 jersey and even do a halftime ceremony next season.
Smith used to wear number 22, but had switched to No. 3. Bentley still called him “double-deuce” regardless.
“Before every game, he pointed to the sky and yelled Jesus!” Bentley said. “He believed in God, his family, and this football team.”
“He was a leader, a great man.”
Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey, who also serves as pastor of St. Paul A.M.E. Church on Detroit’s east site, said late Sunday he had never met the City of God pastor. But concerns about security in places of worship, he said, have seemingly increased in recent months since June’s mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
“It continues to shock me,” Spivey said. “Before June, you saw things like this happen every now and then. But now it seems every week something happens at a church.”
In the wake of the Charleston shooting that left nine dead, many Detroit pastors said they planned to beef up security at their places of worship.
In June, the Rev. Larry L. Simmons of Baber Memorial A.M.E. Church in northwest Detroit said he was one of them. “Unfortunately, we had an incident about a year ago at another church in Brightmoor,” Simmons said, referring to a shooting outside the Citadel of Praise Church in July. In that incident, an off-duty police officer serving as a church security guard fatally shot an ax-wielding man who was later determined to be mentally impaired.
“That incident alerted us that our security was not right,” Simmons said. “But how do you make a place that’s open to the public completely secure? You can’t.”
Spivey said Sunday he worries over the direction churches are being pushed in as they attempt to make their congregations safer.
“Thinking out about it, I do hope the church does not become a place where you have security like an airport,” he said. “My concern is churches are becoming a place where you can no longer welcome people freely. And that shouldn’t happen.”
This post was written by Jim Lynch of The Detroit News. You can find the article here: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2015/10/18/pastor-kills-brick-wielding-man-during-church-service/74190782/
The incident happened about 15 minutes into the 1:30 p.m. Sunday service at the City of God ministries storefront church on Grand River near Lahser, Assistant Chief Steve Dolunt said.
“The pastor had had issues with the man before,” Dolunt said. “He had been threatening him to do bodily harm. He walked into the service and went after the pastor with a brick. The pastor pulled out his Glock and fired several shots. I think he hit him four or five times, and the man died.”
The victim was identified as Deante Smith, 26, of Detroit, police said.
Two Detroit police sources said detectives were investigating a possible love triangle between Smith, his wife and their pastor.
Dolunt said police were called to the church in September. On Sept. 16, Smith wrote he planned to attend the church.
“Can’t wait to see Sunday message at the City of God Ministry,” he wrote. “I’ll be there with the truth.”
Later that day, Smith wrote: “This (expletive) gonna hit the fan.”
In a Sept. 15 post, Smith wrote: “That wasn’t my baby that was (his wife) and pastor(’s) baby.” That preceded a Sept. 18 rant: “This (expletive) got my (expletive) pregnant. Tick tock (expletive) and everybody with you.”
Smith posted several times in the weeks leading up to his death about the pain he wasfeeling about the alleged affair. On Oct. 8, he wrote: “I’m hurting, yall.”
His posts appeared to concern friends, one of whom wrote on Oct. 13, “may I ask (what) is going on with you?”
Smith replied: “I’m crazy they call me S.O.N.I.C.”
The pastor was not arrested and is cooperating with authorities, Officer Jennifer Moreno said Monday.
“He was never in custody,” Moreno said Monday. “He was just brought downtown (on Sunday) for questioning regarding the incident. He stayed a couple hours, cooperated fully and went home.”
After questioning the pastor, police will submit a warrant request to prosecutors, who will then decide whether the shooting was justified.
“We’re not sure at this point whether the man had mental problems or what,” Dolunt said. “It’s still under investigation.”
Smith had been a player for the semi-pro Michigan Lightning football team. The team released a statement on Facebook on Monday.
“His infectious smile and the courage in which he approached life, on and off the field, are attributes that will stick with all of us,” the team statement read.
According to the team, Smith was captain and founding father of the organization, established in 2012.
“More important than all his on-the-field achievements, was his ability to reach someone who was going through a rough time. ‘I got you,’ was echoed by him on many occasions, and to Tae, they weren’t just words, he wasn’t going to let you fall,” the team’s statement read.
Brad Bentley, head coach of the Lightning, said he was still in shock after hearing of Smith’s death. He had known the young man since 2007, and they’d been together on the Lightning since its founding.
“I’m tore up over this,” Bentley said. “I’m shocked.”
Bentley said he’ll lobby team owner Rami Abousaleh to retire Smith’s No. 3 jersey and even do a halftime ceremony next season.
Smith used to wear number 22, but had switched to No. 3. Bentley still called him “double-deuce” regardless.
“Before every game, he pointed to the sky and yelled Jesus!” Bentley said. “He believed in God, his family, and this football team.”
“He was a leader, a great man.”
Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey, who also serves as pastor of St. Paul A.M.E. Church on Detroit’s east site, said late Sunday he had never met the City of God pastor. But concerns about security in places of worship, he said, have seemingly increased in recent months since June’s mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
“It continues to shock me,” Spivey said. “Before June, you saw things like this happen every now and then. But now it seems every week something happens at a church.”
In the wake of the Charleston shooting that left nine dead, many Detroit pastors said they planned to beef up security at their places of worship.
In June, the Rev. Larry L. Simmons of Baber Memorial A.M.E. Church in northwest Detroit said he was one of them. “Unfortunately, we had an incident about a year ago at another church in Brightmoor,” Simmons said, referring to a shooting outside the Citadel of Praise Church in July. In that incident, an off-duty police officer serving as a church security guard fatally shot an ax-wielding man who was later determined to be mentally impaired.
“That incident alerted us that our security was not right,” Simmons said. “But how do you make a place that’s open to the public completely secure? You can’t.”
Spivey said Sunday he worries over the direction churches are being pushed in as they attempt to make their congregations safer.
“Thinking out about it, I do hope the church does not become a place where you have security like an airport,” he said. “My concern is churches are becoming a place where you can no longer welcome people freely. And that shouldn’t happen.”
This post was written by Jim Lynch of The Detroit News. You can find the article here: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2015/10/18/pastor-kills-brick-wielding-man-during-church-service/74190782/
