A Connecticut pastor of a LGBT-Inclusive church has been shot. Last Sunday, Rev. Dr. Augustus Sealy of the First Church of the Nazarene in Hartford (photo right with wife) was planting a row of American flags in front of his church for Memorial Day. The gunman shot him three times - twice in the leg and once in the shoulder - and yelled anti-gay slurs at the pastor. Apparently, a total of seven shots were fired. Hartford police are calling the incident a potential hate crime. Dr. Sealy is slowly recovering.
From The New Civil Rights Movement:
Dr. Sealy was hit three times, once in the shoulder, and twice in the leg. One of the shots to his leg broke his femur.
"He kept trying to get up," said Dennis Lee who was the first to reach Pastor Sealy. "I’m stopping him and saying, ‘Don’t move.’ [I] put pressure on the wound. I wouldn’t let him up. He passed out like once but we woke him back up."
"Some language used in the incident — and given where it was, in front of a church known to be accepting of our LGBT community — it led us to have concern that this is a hate crime," Deputy Chief Foley told reporters.
Neighbors held a vigil for Dr. Sealy in front of the church, praying for the pastor while a large police presence kept watch, lest the shooter return.
Police had not yet identified the suspect/gunman.
The church has started an email initiative for Pastor Sealy so that people can send him their get-well wishes and thoughts/prayers. NCRM has a link in their reporting of the incident if you'd like to send an email thanking Pastor Sealy for being an LGBT ally.
Update 1:
In the comments, johnny wurster brings us this additional information from this link:
Police in Hartford said Thursday that there appears to be a link between the shooting of a pastor and another man in the Connecticut's capital city on Sunday.
The Hartford Courant quoted Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley as saying Thursday that police are looking for one gunman in the shootings that happened about 15 minutes apart.
"Our detectives have direct evidence linking the two," the Courant quoted Foley as saying. He said the department is seeking help from the public in finding the gunman, who they believe might still be in the city. The gunman, whom Foley described as a light-skinned African American or Hispanic male, was driving a black Nissan Maxima.
