Tennessee Pastor Shot In Face While Attempting To Stop Church Car Theft

70-year-old pastor at New Zionfield Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, was shot in the face while preventing the theft of his car.

News Nation reports that in a harrowing incident on the morning of Feb. 25, a 70-year-old pastor at New Zionfield Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, was shot in the face while intervening in an alleged car theft. The victim, identified as Clemmie Livingston, Jr., was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, according to Memphis police.

Authorities responded to the shooting outside the church around 9 a.m. local time, finding Livingston injured after he reportedly attempted to thwart two individuals from stealing a vehicle belonging to a Sunday school teacher.

Livingston was slated to deliver a sermon titled “Another Chance” during Sunday service, is renowned for embodying values of kindness and compassion. His 17-year-old grandson, Kavion Woodin, shared details about the incident with Nexstar’s WREG, emphasizing his grandfather’s selfless act of trying to protect a church member’s car.

“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 revealed that his grandfather sustained a gunshot wound to the mouth during the confrontation. Due to the incident, the family is pleading with the community to address the prevalent issue of gun violence.

“He was a man of giving, willingness, kindness, compassion, and he was a man that never did wrong towards nobody,” Woodin stated. Expressing his frustration with the ongoing violence, he added, “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. 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.”

Memphis police are actively seeking two suspects who were reportedly wearing hoodies at the time the pastor was shot. The assailants fled the scene in a silver 2019 Chevrolet Corvette.

As the investigation unfolds, Livingston is reported to be in stable condition.