Georgia mourns pastor’s wife fatally struck by stray bullet while asleep with husband

A Georgia pastor is mourning the loss of his wife after he woke up to find her fatally hit by a stray bullet. In a Facebook Live video on Sunday, Mac Ellison, a pastor at Temple of Faith Ministries, said the fatal October 5 incident happened in the middle of the night, The Telegraph reported.

Ellison’s wife, identified as Lashunda Heath-Ellison, was fatally struck at the back of the head after the bullet pierced through their Decatur residence. Ellison said his wife was sleeping at the time of the incident.

“My wife Lashunda Heath-Ellison gained her wings. I believe to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,” Ellison wrote. “Please give us a moment to process this. My Perfect Angel is gone but forever in our hearts.”

An investigation into the fatal incident has been launched by the Dekalb County Police Department. Authorities also said the case is being investigated as a homicide. 

Police said the projectile pierced through the back of the couple’s residence, adding that it hit Heath-Ellison while she was sleeping. 

Ellison also said he woke up from his sleep after he noticed his wife was breathing heavily. Ellison said he initially thought his wife was snoring, but noticed there was a problem after he switched on the lights, The Telegraph reported. He then alerted his children.

The family then called 911 and turned Heath-Ellison over. “When we rolled mama over so she could breathe, we saw that the back of her pillow was full of blood, but looking at her, we didn’t see any blood,” Ellison recalled. “There was nothing we could do for mama.”

An X-ray, that was done on Heath-Ellison at the hospital, showed bullet shrapnel was lodged close to her brain, the pastor said. Ellison said he and his children found a bullet hole at their home following their trip to the hospital.

The grieving pastor also said his wife recently turned 50.

“I asked my wife, I said ‘What do you want for your birthday?’ And she said, ‘I just want to be with you,’” Ellison said in the Facebook Live video. “I’m trying to say all this without tears.”