Easter Sunday at New Technology Church in Dallas, Texas, culminated in a bloody homicide when the congregation's youth pastor was shot and killed in a frenzied assault by the pastor's son, who confessed to having an affair with the minister's spouse earlier than their latest divorce, police say.
Dallas Police Division information cited by NBCDFW state that Joshua Bell (aka Joshua Andrews), 30, who was recognized because the son of New Technology Church chief Eric Andrews, was accused of capturing youth minister Denzel Department, 31, down the road from the church.
Police mentioned they responded to the 2500 block of 56th Road in Dallas after receiving studies of a capturing that occurred round 3:25 p.m. Department, a father of three, was discovered with a gunshot wound and later died at an area hospital.
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Earlier than the capturing, investigators say Department and Bell engaged in a verbal dispute that turned bodily. Department punched Bell within the face, inflicting the pastor's son to tug out a black handgun and hearth a number of photographs, in line with eyewitnesses.
Department tried to flee the capturing in a automobile, however Bell admitted to following the youth minister and stored capturing, in line with police. He stopped solely after he “noticed (Boch) mendacity in the course of the highway.”
The pastor's son additionally “said that he has been in an intimate relationship with (Department's ex-wife) since Could 2023, who divorced (Department) round November 2023,” in line with the arrest affidavit.
In a press release posted on Fb Monday afternoon, the church mentioned it was “deeply saddened” by the Easter Sunday tragedy.
“Our hearts are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred down the road from our church after our morning service yesterday. We sincerely recognize everybody's prayers and issues and ask to your continued prayers for the households and our church household as we undergo these tough instances, ” mentioned the church.
“Psalm 46:1 says, 'God is our refuge and energy, a really current assist in bother.' Within the coming days we’ll belief God's phrase, proceed to hope and look to God who’s the originator and finisher of our religion.”
Neighbors mentioned they heard roughly eight gunshots in the course of the assault on the youth minister and recalled efforts to save lots of his life after the capturing.
“I noticed the man laying, you realize, on the bottom,” Karen Lozano, who has lived within the space for practically 20 years, instructed NBCDFW.
“Individuals had been screaming. They had been giving him CPR.”
Bell reportedly fled the scene after the capturing, however ultimately turned himself in to police. He’s at present being held on the Dallas County Jail on $500,000 bail, in line with court docket information.
Department was licensed as a minister at New Technology Church on September 23, 2018, in line with a video posted by the church on Fb.
Within the 2021 Good Friday message, Department preached a message he referred to as, “You may be with me in Paradise”.
In a message based mostly on Luke 23:39-43, he argued that folks could be saved with their “dying breath” however solely when there may be time for repentance.
“There are those that don’t imagine that you may be saved in your dying breath. I, for one, realized in childhood that you just can’t reside a hellish life and anticipate a heavenly reward,” he mentioned.
“There isn’t any assure that you’ll have the chance to repent, so I can’t gamble my salvation on dwelling a lifetime of hell simply since you may need the chance [repent]” he added.
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