Church, family grieve after beloved pastor is killed in crossfire at Miami flea market
Family members and churchgoers are reeling after Pastor Gregory Boyd, leader of New Birth Harvest Outreach Ministries Churches of Deliverance in Miami, Florida, was shot and killed while getting a bite to eat at a local flea market last Thursday. He was 54.
“We are grieving the loss of our dear Overseer Gregory Boyd,” his church said in a statement on Facebook Saturday.
“Keep his wife, family, friends and congregation in prayer. His absence is truly felt in Miami-Dade County and possibly even further. We don't have many words currently as we're in shock still.”
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The church concluded by urging followers to spend time in prayer and show love to each other.
According to the Miami-Dade Police Department, Boyd was shot at approximately 6:05 p.m. in front of the Shoe Time store located on Northwest 27th Avenue. He was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center and died a short time after arriving.
ABC News affiliate WPLG reports that the shooting stemmed from an argument between a woman and a group of men. A second group of men got involved in the dispute before the gunfire began. Police believe Boyd was caught in the crossfire.
WPLG reporter Terrell Forney was on the scene broadcasting a live report on the arrest of two men suspected in a drive-by shooting that killed a 7-year-old girl when the shooting erupted.
He described how the shots never seemed to stop.
“I’m waiting to wrap up the package before we go live again and all of a sudden I hear all of these shots,” Forney told the news station. “I hear, ‘Pop! Pop! Pop!' ... and it feels like it never really stopped.”
The pastor’s daughter Sharita Cooper said in a post on Facebook that the death of her father has devastated her family.
“I keep thinking it’s a nightmare I can’t wake up from. This is so hard to digest,” she wrote. “To the young people that shot multiple times at each other with no regard for life, I pray that you will see that you have not only took a great man of God but you took away my father, my hero, a Great husband to my mom and an even better friend/family member to countless others. He’s well known by many and justice will be served.”
Church members told WSVN that Boyd had been their pastor for 20 years.
A GoFundMe campaign, which has since been suspended after the family said it "does not need money for funeral services," explains that Boyd and his wife, Pastor Dorothy Boyd, were married for almost 24 years at the time of his killing. He was a father of three and had many grandchildren.
The Boyds co-founded New Birth Harvest Outreach Ministries Churches of Deliverance in 2011, according to the church's website.
