The minister injured in Sunday’s shooting at an Antioch church spoke publicly about the chaotic moments when a gunmen entered and opened fire.
Joey Spann, preacher at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, addressed the media Tuesday morning.
Spann and his wife, Peggy, were among the injured when a gunman began shooting.
"I remember the mask being freaky...the glass around us was popping," Spann said. @NC5pic.twitter.com/6w4miqJAYK
— Matthew Torres (@NC5_MTorres) September 26, 2017
Spann described hearing three to four popping noises and saw a man wearing a mask. He said he threw a container at the gunman and was shot in the chest.
“I thought I was dying," Spann said, adding that he felt like he'd been hit with an air gun.
He said his wife, Peggy, raised up and cried out his name.
"Honey, he's killed me... I'm dying and I'm sorry," an emotional Spann recalled.
Spann said several women at the church had been nurses and started putting pressure on the wound – which perhaps saved his life.
"I don’t question God, I’m just so thankful to be alive," he said.
Spann: I just trust God...maybe that's why there is no resentment @NC5
— Matthew Torres (@NC5_MTorres) September 26, 2017
Linda Bush, William "Don" Jenkins, Marlene Jenkins, Katherine Dickerson and Caleb Engle were also hurt. Melanie Crow Smith, age 38, was killed in the shooting. A funeral service will be held Thursday in Nashville.
Spann is an employee at Nashville Christian School and is the girls’ basketball coach at the school.
Read More:
Church Shooting Victims Continue Recovery
1 Killed, 7 Injured In Antioch Church Shooting
