BALTIMORE — Rashad Singletary moved slowly down the center aisle of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Turner Station for Mass on Easter Sunday as dozens of congregation members cheered and shouted messages of encouragement for the pastor in his first service after he had been shot four days prior.
“We love you, pastor, hallelujah,” a man yelled as the pastor journeyed to the front of the room with a cast on his leg and a wheeled walking device under it.
As the congregation continued to cheer, Singletary sat in a chair on the side of the altar and began to cry due to what he said was the overwhelming amount of support he received from the congregation.
“I am feeling invigorated, inspired and today really lifted my spirit to be around my family and our congregation,” Singletary said. “I feel good.”
The 37-year-old pastor noted that he missed the church’s Good Friday Service and that while he was on his way to the Sunday service, he began feeling nauseous because, after such a traumatizing experience, he said he was unsure if he was ready to come back to his congregation or not.
Despite the uncertainty and anxiety, he said that when he arrived at the church on Sunday and heard the music from outside, it “soothed” his spirit and was “a sense of healing.”
When Singletary stood at the altar for the first time since being shot, he told the church that on Wednesday evening, around 11 p.m., he left his home in West Baltimore to move his car to make it accessible since he is the public information officer for the Baltimore City Fire Chief and wanted to be prepared, should he have to leave and go to the scene of a fire.
He said that when he was outside his home, a young man jumped out of a bush.
“I jumped and said, ‘Whoa, whoa,’ and the guy said, ‘Don’t scream, don’t make any noise, just give me the keys,’” Singletary said. “Before I could register and get anything out of my mouth, he pulled out a 9mm and shot one shot.”
When he went to the hospital, Singletary said he was informed that the bullet had gone straight through his foot and that the only injury to his bone was a fracture. His foot is expected to heal in a month, he said.
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