Members of True Cornerstone Church in Mobile, Alabama, are still in shock after a man came to the church in search of his wife and shot her outside.
The woman, Prophetess Alisha Woodard, had just finished preaching during a program at the church last Friday when her husband, who is also a well-known pastor, showed up at the premises that he would like to speak with her.
The couple were both leaders of the True Word of Deliverance Church of God in Prichard, Alabama, but for about two weeks now, they had been estranged, reported christianpost.com.
The husband, Ulysses Woodard arrived at the True Cornerstone Church Friday night to perhaps settle things with his wife but as they were talking at the church premises, they had a heated argument.
In the process, Woodard shot his wife in the chest and after shot himself, according to a witness, Derek Scott Gandy.
Gandy, a pastor at the church and his family were among the few people at the church when the incident happened.
He said Woodard, who is his friend, had approached him that night after the church program that he would like to speak with his wife Alisha.
“When I went outside, he just said, ‘Pastor, can I talk to my wife please?’ And I said, ‘Sure, that’s your wife.’ And he never said anything to anyone. He did not stress anyone. He did not disrespect anyone. He never raised his voice at all,” Gandy told christianpost.com.
Gandy said he later saw Woodard and his wife talking but he realized that things started getting heated up so he offered to take Alisha home.
He, however, left them alone because he didn’t want to get involved in what he felt were “domestic issues.”
“I sat in the car to wait for her to finish talking. But then when she started screaming, hollering, let go, stop, then he had come over,” Gandy said.
At that moment, Alisha was trying to get into Gandy’s car but her husband grabbed her arm.
“He managed to keep her in his grasp and he managed to get to his car and that’s where he had his weapon,” Gandy said.
Woodard then shot his wife in the chest. He fled the scene but then the police arrived and pursued him. He subsequently returned to the church but as the police officers approached his vehicle, he shot himself. His car then crashed into the church.
He was pronounced dead at the scene but his wife survived. She was taken to a local hospital where reports say she is recovering.
“She [Alisha] was just doing her thing. She was about Jesus. She loves Jesus. She loves His word. She’s just a vessel that’s just willing to be used by God,” Gandy’s wife Kula said.
Kula and members of her church are thankful to God that Alisha is alive after being shot even though they are yet to get over the tragedy.
“What I struggle with is the fact that our young daughters were there. And I struggle with them actually returning (to the church.) And I’ve been thinking about how do we find a way to purchase a new church to leave that site. Of all of this, that’s probably the toughest thing,” Gandy said.
