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Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Danny Prenell, Jr. Shoots His Wife in the Presence of His Children

pastor danny prenell jr

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Danny Prenell, Jr., pastor of Bright Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Pineville, Mississippi, shot his wife in the presence of his children at a Hampton Hotel and then tried to kill himself.

The Enterprise-Journal reports:

A Louisiana pastor and his wife have been identified in a shooting that took place on the first floor of the Hampton Inn and Suites in McComb Wednesday afternoon.

According to WJTV, police identified the couple as 25-year-old Danny Prenell, Jr., and 27-year-old Gabrielle Prenell. Both are in a Jackson hospital with gunshot wounds.

A Jackson TV station quoted McComb police as saying Danny Prenell, who is the pastor of Bright Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Pineville, allegedly shot his wife two times and then shot himself around 3: 30 p.m

Both were airlifted from Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Further information was not available.

After the shooting, McComb police blocked off the hallway on the first floor, where what looks like blood, towels, and a pillow could be seen on the floor by the elevators.

The couple’s children have been placed in state custody.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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1 Comment

  1. Avatar
    Yulya Sevelova

    Wow !! Can you just imagine how this person,Danny Prenell, was raised ,to wind up doing something so insane as this ?? You can tell by his appearance in this photo that something is really wrong.

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