A young pastor in North Carolina was killed just days after he was ordained.
The 25-year old Robert Booth, founder of Hood Holiness Church in High Point, was shot outside his home on Tuesday evening. Authorities are still searching for the two suspects, WFMY reported.
Associate pastor Dwayne Waden, Jr. said that the late minister walked up to young people who are wearing black ski masks but was gunned down.
"He probably looked at those boys and saw himself. He wasn't encouraging gang violence. He wasn't selling dope. He was preaching the word of God. That's it. And they just took his life," Waden explained.
He revealed that Booth started the church just a few months ago, hoping that it would end violence in the area. To spread the Gospel, they used street ministry and Christian rap music.
Waden declared that he would continue the mission which Booth has begun.
"It's crazy because he texted me two hours before it happened and just told me, if anything happens to me, keep a lookout for my church," he disclosed.
Hood Holiness Church's most recent Facebook post, seemingly coming from the young pastor himself, says "If I hold my peace, and let the Lord fight my battles." This is accompanied by a photo that has the words "Let the Lord fight your battles, He hasn't lost one yet."
The late pastor, who also proposed to his girlfriend on the day of his ordination, left behind his fiancée and a two-year old son.
His friend, Brandon Smith, shared that they were already planning for the wedding last Sunday and never thought that days later, Booth's family would plan a funeral for him.
Bishop Kerry Thomas, who ordained Booth, honored the late minister.
"The streets were Robert's pulpit. Just the very fabric of who he was, outside of him being a pastor, outside of him being clergy, he was just a good human being," he told WXII 12.
"He instantaneously had just this gift to know a stranger. He'd embrace that person, not for what they were at that moment, but for who they could be," the bishop added.
Thomas said that the church would hold a memorial for Booth on Sunday afternoon at God's United House of Grace and Mercy in High Point.
The High Point Police Department (HPPD) are looking for two suspects who are Black men, as well as a burgundy SUV, which is believed to be their getaway car.
HPPD discovered a connection between someone close to Booth and the suspects of another killing. The department believes that the murder was a retaliation of a high-profile shooting in April on Eastchester Drive.
The group, High Point Community Against Violence, is helping the search for the killers by giving out flyers to the residents of the East Village Apartment Condominiums.
"We put the information in their hands so they can see and read what we're talking about. Some people didn't even know that it happened," Lt. Matt Truitt said.
People with information on the incident are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers of High Point at 336-889-4000. Tips to the organization are confidential and it also offers cash reward for tips that lead to an arrest.
