CHICAGO — A Bible-related argument turned deadly in the wee hours of Sept. 5 when a 67-year-old wheelchair-bound pastor shot dead an 80-year-old retired pastor in the senior home where they both lived.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Allen Smith and Ted Merchant were on the back patio of the Senior Suites at Rainbow Beach discussing Bible verses when Merchant pulled out a gun and killed Smith.
Smith, a former Baptist minister, was a graduate of Yale Divinity School and had recently retired from First Baptist Church, East Chicago, and moved into the assisted living home in 2015.
He and his alleged killer regularly discussed the Bible there, according to the Tribune.
Merchant, who ran a church at the senior home, was arrested three blocks from the scene after fleeing in his motorized wheelchair. (TAB)
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