A youth minister in Dallas, Texas, was shot to death on Easter just outside his church after police said he argued with the pastor’s son who was having an affair with the victim’s wife before they got divorced last year.
Joshua Bell Andrews, 30, faces one count of murder in the March 31 shooting of Denzel Branch, a 31-year-old father of three who was gunned down less than two blocks from New Generation Church, where he’d been licensed as a minister since Sept. 23, 2018.
The shooting happened around 3:25 p.m. in the 2500 block of 56th Street, according to the Dallas Police Department.
When police arrived, they found Branch mortally wounded after Easter services had taken place just steps away.
He died later that day at a local hospital, marking the tragic conclusion to a love triangle that began in May 2023.
After seeing Andrews on the side for six months, Branch’s wife filed for divorce in November 2023.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Andrews and Branch were attending Sunday service at New Generation Church, where Andrews’s father, Eric J. Andrews, is lead pastor, according to witnesses who spoke to detectives.
Church leaders, however, did not immediately confirm the family connection of the suspected shooter.
One church member told police that the pastor received an emergency phone call in his office during the service, and he hurried an usher “to go outside and handle the situation,” according to NBC5 in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Outside the church, Branch and Andrews began arguing over the woman and a brawl erupted.
During the fight, witnesses said, Branch punched Andrews in the face, which prompted Andrews to draw a black pistol from his person and shoot Branch, police said.
Branch tried to run after he was shot, but Andrews pursued him and fired several more times, police said.
Witnesses reported hearing at least eight gunshots.
“He was running on foot,” a neighbor told NBC5, referring to…
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