Wife of pastor shot in mouth says his injuries are ‘more serious than people know’
The wife of Zionfield Baptist Church Pastor Clemmie Livingston Jr., who was shot in the mouth by carjackers as he was getting ready for a service at his church in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday, says his injuries are “more serious than people know” and is now seeking the public’s help to get him the medical care he needs.
Livingston’s wife, Gwendoline Livingston, revealed in a GoFundMe campaign launched Thursday, that although her 71-year-old husband is in stable condition in ICU, he will need to undergo multiple follow-up surgeries to repair the damage from the severe injury.
“After undergoing surgery he was upgraded to stable and still remains in ICU. Even so, my husband will be awaiting at least two more surgeries approximately 6 weeks from now and then a 3rd phase and possibly more depending on the outçome of his healing,” Gwendoline Livingston wrote on the campaign which is seeking to raise $20,000 for the pastor’s medical care.
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She added that due to the severe injury, doctors had to perform a painful tracheotomy, and he cannot eat or drink.
“At this time, he is unable to eat or speak and communicates with us through notes and hand gestures. Surgeons have drilled… nails and attached a brace to the right side of his face to try and hold the jaw closed because the bullet shattered his jawbone into many pebble size pieces,” she said. “Were on a long journey to recovery.”
In an interview with Fox 13 on Thursday, the pastor’s wife lamented the attack on her husband, noting that he “will never be the same.”
“My husband’s not the same and will never be the same. It wasn’t just a gunshot wound. It’s more serious than people know,” she said.
The Memphis Police Department noted in a previous report that the pastor, whose daughter says he is also battling bone cancer, was shot just after 9 a.m. Sunday as he stepped out of his church before the start of his morning service.
“The victim was shot when he came out of the church as the suspects were stealing a 2019 silver Chevrolet Corvette. As the suspects fled the scene in the stolen vehicle, they fired shots, striking the victim,” a statement from the police said. “A second person who was outside of the church at the time the car was stolen returned fire after the suspects shot first.”
Police have no suspects and have not recovered the stolen vehicle.
The pastor’s wife told Fox 13 that he was not involved in a confrontation with the carjackers. He simply heard car alarms outside the church and as soon as he stepped outside the church to see what was happening, he was hit by a gunshot, and he fell.
“He never talked to anybody," she said. "He never went to anybody. He didn’t try to stop anything. He didn’t deserve that. He didn’t confront anybody.”
Investigators are urging anyone with information on the shooting to call the Memphis Police Department or CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.
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