Three days after a gunman shot him during a carjacking, 37-year-old Pastor Rashad Singletary rolled into Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Turner Station on Easter Sunday wearing a cast, leaning on a wheeled scooter, and refusing to stay home.
He did not stride to the pulpit. He eased his way down the center aisle, sat at the altar, and preached from a chair as the congregation erupted in cheers. The scene captured the cost of the violence he survived and the wave of support that he said has kept him steady.
Singletary told reporters he had stepped outside his West Baltimore home on Wednesday night to move a car when a man jumped from a bush, told him "Don't scream" and demanded his keys. The man then fired, hitting Singletary in the foot. As reported by The Baltimore Banner, the bullet passed through his foot and cracked a bone, and he said doctors expect it to heal in about a month.
According to Singletary, the thief took off with the keys and the vehicle. The pastor briefly followed in another car before turning back once he felt it was time to stop the chase.
Despite missing the Good Friday service, Singletary was back in front of his flock for Resurrection Sunday, moving slowly up the aisle to loud applause before settling into his seat at the front, FOX45 reported. He told congregants that the music had "soothed" his spirit and that being surrounded by family and church members left him feeling "invigorated."
Police said they are investigating the shooting and carjacking. As of the latest reports, no arrests had been announced.
Community Work and Response
Singletary is no stranger to the front lines of Baltimore's anti-violence work. He has spent more than a decade in violence-prevention programs, including with Safe Streets Baltimore and the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. He told reporters the attack had "reignited a fire" to continue that work, The Baltimore Banner reports.
At the Baltimore City Fire Department, where Singletary serves as a public information officer, colleagues rallied around him during his early recovery. They helped cover church duties while he was off his feet, and area pastors stepped in for Good Friday services, praising both the congregation's resilience and its loud show of love for its recovering pastor.
Officials Check In as He Begins Recovery
Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace sat with Singletary in the emergency room, and Police Commissioner Richard Worley visited him at home, according to FOX45. Mayor Brandon Scott also called to check in.
Singletary said he plans to keep preaching while he heals and is finishing a book titled "Ministry in Dead Places." He also told reporters he forgives the man who shot him.
Investigators have asked anyone with information about the carjacking to contact Baltimore police or Metro Crime Stoppers.
