The son of a longtime pastor at Richmond Road Baptist Church in Kentucky says he was wrongfully arrested on the day of a mass shooting that left two of his family members dead and two others injured. He was charged with menacing while trying to learn whether his father had survived.
Jerry Gumm II said he rushed to the church in Lexington on July 13 after receiving a call from a relative saying someone had “shot them all up,” according to Lex18.
At the time, Gumm didn’t know who was dead or alive and was told that his stepmother, Beverly Gumm, and stepsister, Christina Combs, had been shot at the scene along with his father, Jerry Gumm, and Combs’ husband, Randy.
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The shooter, Guy House, was later killed by police.
Gumm was quoted as saying he drove from Nicholasville to the scene and tried to identify himself to officers, asking about his father’s condition. In a citation filed by Kentucky State Police, a trooper wrote that Gumm was “belligerent” and “grabbed the handle of his gun.”
Gumm denies the accusation, saying he never reached for his weapon and had only tried to back up and raise his hands as he sought information. “I was asking for the condition of my father the whole time, and they said, ‘Watch the news, that’s all the information you’ll need to get,’” he said.
Gumm was charged with menacing and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 29. He and his attorney are seeking to have the charge dismissed.
Gumm said he still respects the police, though he questioned the conduct of some officers at the scene.
The 47-year-old suspect killed Beverly Gumm, 72, and Christina Combs, 32. Pastor Jerry Gumm and Randy Combs were hospitalized with critical injuries. House had also shot a Kentucky State Police trooper earlier that day at Blue Grass Airport.
Before the church shooting, House had reportedly been searching for the mother of his child. She was not at the church. Instead, he shot her mother and sister.
His former partner told WKYT that House had recently threatened suicide and expressed a desire to harm her. She filed for an emergency protective order, which she said was never served despite providing authorities with his known address.
Court records indicate that House had a criminal history and was released from probation in January. He had previously tested positive for methamphetamine in violation of that probation. He also had a court date scheduled for a domestic violence case the day after the shooting.
House was known in local circles as a rapper who went by the name HonKy Kong and had over 9,000 followers on Facebook. Following the shooting, several people who knew him posted online expressing grief and disbelief, describing him as someone who “snapped” due to not being allowed to see his daughter.
In one of his music videos titled “Struggle Made Me,” House rapped about his difficult upbringing.
