A pastor who shot dead a parishioner during Sunday service was believed to have had an affair with the man’s wife.
Keon Allison had delivered his Sunday sermon when a member of the congregation, Deante Smith, tried to hit him with a brick.
Mr Allison, 36, pulled out his Glock handgun and shot him dead in front of the congregation of the City of God Ministry church in Detroit.
Mr Smith, 25, had written for weeks on his Facebook page of his anger at discovering that his pregnant wife’s child did not belong to him.
His social media posts turned from those of elation: “It’s been confirmed we are officially 3 weeks pregnant yall”, to the tortured: “This [pastor] got my bitch [wife] pregnant... tick tock motherf***er and everybody with you”.
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Detectives are investigating whether the love triangle was a motive for the attack. According to the victim’s sister, Mr Smith had plans to reconcile with his wife and had returned to the small church to make peace with the pastor.
Mr Smith had been close to Mr Allison, she said, adding that he even referred to him as “dad”. The young couple once lived with him.
The dead man was an athlete who was a captain of the local amateur American football team, the Michigan Lightning, and worked at the Ford Motor Company, according to his Facebook profile.
Police said that the pastor had co-operated fully with the investigation. He has been released without charge.
Self-defence shootings are not rare in Detroit, where pockets of lawlessness blight the once thriving industrial city. In 2012, there were a record 25 self- defence shootings in the city, then about 2,200 per cent above the national average.