A man was shot to death while leaving church Sunday, according to news reports.
Deputy coroner Wayne Pryse identified the victim as 43-year-old Bennie Berry, who was shot multiple times while walking to his car after a service at Elim Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Berry was rushed to the hospital but later died from the gunshot wounds.
According to his Facebook page, Berry was a servant leader at Elim Baptist Church. Several people commented on his profile picture with messages of “Rest in Peace” and “Praise in heaven.”
David Snardon, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition of Louisville, says that other churches are standing behind Elim Baptist Church as they work through the trauma of Berry’s murder.
“It just brings up a lot of questions—concern for the pastor, concern for the church, and concern for the community that something can happen on the sacred day, in a sacred place—with someone coming out of the church in broad daylight with a total disregard for human life,” Snardon says, according to The Courier-Journal.
A prayer service will be held at the church Tuesday at 7 p.m.
