A pastor reportedly shot his employee after the employee tried to shoot him, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Pastor Terry L. Howell was letting go Benjamin Parangan Jr., a member of the maintenance crew of Living Water Fellowship, when Paragan drew a gun and began to shoot at the pastor. Howell then withdrew his own weapon and shot Parangan.
The incident occurred at Living Water Fellowship in Kissimme, Florida, Tuesday morning.
Parangan was taken to a regional medical center, according to My Fox Orlando, and he will be jailed once he is released.
The Osceola Sheriff’s Office has charged him with aggravated assault with intent to kill, according to the Sentinel. The Sheriff’s Office is looking at Howell’s shots as self-defense, My News 13 reports.
According to that same report, the church released the following statement later Tuesday: “We are in full support of the on-going Osceola County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the traumatic incident that occurred at our church this morning. We will continue to cooperate with the investigators in every way that we can. Until the investigation is complete, we will not be making any public statements. Thank you for understanding. The members of our church will continue to pray for all those involved in this morning’s incident. We would ask all who read this release to do the same.”
