Pastor shoots and kills 26-year-old man in Detroit during church service

'I'LL BE THERE WITH THE TRUTH'

An unnamed pastor was accused of shooting 26-year-old Deante Smith in the middle of a church service at The City of God church in Detroit when Smith attempted to attack him with a brick. Smith's cousin claims the attack was the result of a suspected affair between the pastor and Smith's wife.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - On Sunday morning, 26-year-old Deante Smith disrupted a church service when he allegedly ran toward the pastor with a brick. The pastor responded to the threat by shooting Smith several times with a semiautomatic gun.

The shooting occurred shortly following a 1:30 p.m. service began at the City of God storefront church on Grand River Avenue. With the brick in hand, Smith went straight for the pastor, whose name has yet to be release. The pastor saw Smith coming and surprised the congregation when he pulled out a semiautomatic and shot Smith multiple times.
Smith was taken to Botsford Hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Initial reports by Assistant Chief Steve Dolunt claim the pastor and Smith knew each other. "They knew each other and had some type of problem before. When I got there, the body had already been  moved. The pastor was in custody. We had the gun."

Smith's cousin Detrese Abbot told the Free press, "It's unbelievable. They're painting him to be a monster, but he wasn't. They knew each other very well. This is not just a strange man that walked in looking to harm someone ... We're just trying to figure this whole thing out."

Dulont disclosed further information regarding the relationship between the pastor and Smith. He said police reports had been filed against Smith in the past involving threats. "It's tragic," he added.
Abbot said Smith had been a member of the church for four years and had once been close to the pastor.
"The pastor took him under his wing, he was his mentor. He was someone my cousin looked up to as a father figure ... So much happened that led up to this. I just don't understand none of this ... They had a relationship and bond that couldn't be broken. For this to end like this and for them to paint him as a crazy and deranged person, he didn't want this to come to this."
Over September, Smith had been venting about his personal life -particularly about his divorce from his wife, positing he was "Divorced and Happy."
Despite the posts to Smith's Facebook, Abbot claims he never divorced his wife and the couple was in the midst of reconciling, then Smith posted that he would be going to church that Sunday, writing, "I'LL BE THERE WITH THE TRUTH."
Abbot stressed that "He had been saying it for a couple days now, that the truth is going to come out."
The "truth" Smith was referring to was an accusation that the pastor was the father of his wife's baby. 

After suspecting the affair, Abbot said Smith was a changed man. "It's crazy because everyone was living a normal life like they didn't know what was going on between his wife and pastor. It really hurt him," she said.
Dolunt stated that the pastor was arrested following the event but was released Monday morning. "We've heard several allegations and are looking into that, but haven't substantiated anything."

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