Pastor Shoots Wife and Himself in Front of Their Children

A Louisiana pastor is accused of shooting his wife in front of the couple’s three children before turning the gun on himself inside a hotel in Mississippi on Wednesday. 

The shooting took place at the Hampton Inn on Cheyenne Drive off of Interstate 55 in McComb.

According to reports, the pastor has been named 25-year-old Danny Prenell Jr.–lead pastor at the Bright Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Pineville, Louisiana. 

Multiple Facebook posts identify the wife as 27-year-old Gabby Prenell. The couple have three children together.

Both were rushed to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Their children are in the custody of child protective services. 

Authorities have not commented on Prenell or his wife’s condition. A Facebook post from a friend of Gabby’s said that the mother was ‘still fighting’ in an intensive care unit. 

The pastor faces an aggravated assault charge, according to WAPT.

Two days earlier, Danny posted on a Facebook page he appeared to share with his wife, a photo of the two of them along with their children. He tagged the location as Hampton Inn & Suites McComb in Mississippi, where the shooting occurred.

The caption read, ‘I may not be a perfect man, but I’ll always be a family man,’ with hashtags #HusbandFatherPastor and #FlawedYetFavored.

A photograph published by y The Enterprise-Journal showed police tape blocking off a hallway at the hotel. Beyond the tape, blood splatters, a pillow and towels were strew across the floor.

The motive of the shooting is unknown at this time.

Danny often posted on the couple’s Facebook account, mostly about self-growth. 

‘At the age of 25, I often hear that I’m far beyond my years. However, I never get satisfied with where I am….I’m constantly looking for more,’ he wrote on April 16. 

We’ll keep y’all updated on this tragic story as more information becomes available.