A few hours after his wife and one of his daughters were buried in a joint funeral, a week after they were shot at his church, Jerry Gumm, pastor of Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, was still recuperating from his injuries in a hospital.
It was unclear on Monday if he was aware that his wife was dead, but as of Friday afternoon, Pastor Gumm was still unaware that his wife had died. According to his daughter, Star Jones, the family had chosen not to disclose the tragedy to him, at least for a while.
“My Dad Jerry Gumm is awake but groggy. He is doing well. They took the ventilator out but [he] can’t talk d[u]e to his injuries. He did lose hearing in his right ear and has a long road ahead of him,” she wrote in a post on Facebook last Friday. “I appreciate all the prayers, love and support from family and friends. May God continue to heal and bless him. For those visiting him please do not mention anything of my Mom and sister. I and Jerry decided to wait for now.”
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The pastor’s wife, Beverly Gumm, 72, and their 32-year-old daughter, Christina Combs, were both buried on Saturday evening after a well-attended service, Jones said.
They were both fatally shot after 47-year-old Guy House, also deceased, went on a shooting rampage at the church after he shot and injured a Kentucky State Police trooper, Jude Remilien, at the Blue Grass Airport, Lex 18 reported.
Gumm was cooking lunch in the church’s fellowship hall with Jones on July 13 when a man, now identified as House, came through the back door and asked for the whereabouts of Jones’ sister, Angel.
“’I just want to speak to Angel,’ that’s our sister. My mother said Angel is not here. He said, ‘well I guess someone is gonna have to die then.’ And shot twice at her. The first time, she ducked and [he] missed. Second time [his bullet] hit her in the chest,” Jones told WKYT.
House later went outside the church, where he fatally shot Combs. He also shot Pastor Gumm and Combs’ husband, Randy Combs.
It was unclear Monday whether Pastor Gumm has yet been told of his wife’s passing. The church did not immediately respond to calls from The Christan Post for comment.
Jones revealed in a Facebook post on Sunday night that the pastor remains hospitalized, but was doing better and could be home in a week.
At the church’s first worship service since the shooting on Sunday, Rachael Barnes, another of Beverly Gumm’s daughters, said the whole ordeal “feels like a bad dream.”
“I’m still pretty much numb, kind of in shock, it feels like a bad dream, unfortunately, it’s not,” Barnes told Lex 18.
“We’re all just trying to stick together and help each other,” she added. “My mom had eight children, so the seven of us that’re still here, we’re trying to lean on each other’s shoulders and just be there and continue to have our faith in God.”
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