According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, an intense gunfight broke out between a Florida pastor and a former employee. The incident, which took place inside the Living Water Fellowship Tuesday, was described as an act of self-defense on the part of Pastor Terry Howell.
The gun battle, reportedly, occurred when the local pastor convened with Benjamin Parangan at around 8 a.m. in the morning. Howell then told Parangan that he would no longer be working for the Kissimmee church, prompting a dissatisfied Parangan to take out his gun and fire at his ex-employer. In turn, the pastor responded by taking out his own weapon. After returning fire, the pastor - who had previously served as a senior pastor at Dickson City for 13 years - critically wounded the man.
Parangan, who has been a member of the maintenance crew for the last eight years, fired several shots at Howell, narrowly missing the 61-year-old pastor on each occasion. According to eye-witness reports, the man’s violent outburst came to an end when Howell pulled out his own gun.
Parangan was later transported to a local hospital, where he was listed as being in stable condition. While Parangan was supposed to have been rushed to hospital aboard an air ambulance, the bad weather forced the emergency services to scrap their original plans. Instead, the 47-year-old was moved to the Osceola Regional Medical Center via ambulance.
The authorities have confirmed that both Parangan and Howell had concealed-weapon permits.
At the time of the shooting, over a dozen children were attending day care on the church grounds. The children were unharmed and their parents later collected them after being notified of the shooting.
The investigation into the incident is currently ongoing, with deputies treating the pastor’s behavior as an act of self-defense. However, charges against Parangan are outstanding.
“We are in full support of the ongoing Osceola County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the traumatic incident that occurred at our church this morning. We will continue to cooperate with the investigators in every way that we can,” concluded Howell in a pre-prepared statement.