Police: Pastor of North Texas church killed

Police: Pastor of North Texas church killed

FOREST HILL, Texas (AP) — A North Texas pastor was killed Monday by an attacker who rammed a car into a church wall, chased the pastor and beat him with an electric guitar, police said.

Police in Forest Hill, a suburb of Fort Worth, did not say why the unidentified suspect attacked the Rev. Danny Kirk Sr., the founding pastor of the Greater Sweethome Missionary Baptist Church.

The suspect also died a short time after being taken into custody.

Forest Hill Police Chief Dan Dennis said the suspect drove his car into a church wall around 12 p.m. Monday, apparently on purpose. The suspect got out of the car and began chasing the pastor, and the church secretary hid and called 911, Dennis said.

Police arrived to find the suspect assaulting Kirk with an electric guitar that they believe was already inside the church, Dennis said. An officer used a Taser on the suspect, handcuffed him and put him in the back of a patrol car.

By then, Kirk had died, Dennis said. A maintenance worker who tried to save Kirk was injured and taken to an area hospital. His condition was unknown.

Dennis said the suspect was found unresponsive shortly after being detained and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Dennis said he didn’t know if the suspect knew Kirk or why he might have attacked the pastor.

Hundreds of people stood outside the church as word spread about the attack.

According to former Forest Hill mayor James Gosey, Kirk started the church years ago.

Kirk was also an unofficial volunteer chaplain who occasionally counseled members of a local high school football team, Fort Worth school district spokesman Clint Bond said.