Youth Pastor Dead As A Result of Mistaken Identity by Police Officer
Written by Heartsong Live on 10th September 2018
A US youth pastor is dead after a police officer returning home from work shot and killed him when she mistook his apartment for her own.
Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger reported that she had shot US youth pastor Botham Jean on Thursday night.
She told responding officers that she believed the victim’s apartment was her own when she entered it.
The responding officers administered first aid to Jean but he was pronounced dead after he was taken to the hospital.
Who Was This Youth Pastor?
Jean, 26, was a member of Dallas West Church of Christ, where he taught a young adult Bible study every week.
Members held a vigil for him at the church on Saturday. According to FOX 4, the family asked that Jean be remembered as a youth pastor, singer, a good friend and family member.
Jessica Berry, a close friend of Jean’s who’s also a member of the church, told TV news outlet WFAA : “It’s like a big chunk of the church’s heart has been ripped out.”
He grew up in St Lucia and attended Harding University, a private Christian university in Arkansas.
Botham often led campus worship services before graduating in 2016, the school said in a statement.
Harding University President Bruce McLarty shared a memory of Jean with students in chapel Friday morning.
“At lectureship one year, I asked him to lead singing one night. Because of the subject, there was a particular old hymn that I asked him if he would mind leading,” McLarty said.
“He didn’t say anything about not knowing the song, but he had never heard it before in his life. He came up that evening and was just smiling and excited about leading it.
“Jean told me he had never heard the song before, but that day, he called back to St. Lucia and asked his grandmother to teach him that old hymn on the phone.
So he shared it with us at lectureship that night, and it was a truly special moment.”
Police Officer Charged
Lee Merritt, an attorney representing Jean’s family, tweeted Saturday: “Our first & foremost priority will be to ensure justice is served for this family.
That includes holding Amber Guyger accountable for her crimes as well as ID’ing all responsible for enabling this incident.”
The Dallas Police Department has handed over the investigation to the Texas Rangers to allow for full transparency.
Texas Rangers said Guyer was arrested on Sunday for investigation of manslaughter. However, it’s been reported she was released on $300,000 bail Sunday night.
