An associate pastor at a local church in Baltimore, Maryland — described as a "prayer warrior" and someone "who loved helping young people" — was gunned down by an unidentified male suspect as she got into her car last Friday, May 27.
The Baltimore Police have released a CCTV footage of the suspect in the killing of Latrina Ashburne, 41, an associate pastor at Kingdom Restoration Church and a teacher's aide at Francis Scott Key Elementary School, The Baltimore Sun reported.
"This is the woman you want as your neighbor, the woman you want in your community. And some coward guns her down at 7:30 in the morning," said police spokesman T.J. Smith.
The police responded to the shooting on Rosalind Avenue and found Ashburne with a gunshot wound on her upper body.
She was brought to a hospital where she died.
Preliminary investigation by the police showed that the victim was getting into her vehicle when she was approached by an unidentified male suspect. The victim tried to run away from the suspect but was shot.
"We don't have a motive in this case. We don't know why this took place, and it's absolutely concerning to us," added Smith.
Ashburne's uncle, Rev. Christian Hall, a senior pastor at the church, said she became a preacher when she was just a teen.
"She started as a young minister and just kind of fell in love with ministry. She was not only an elder, but also the youth coordinator of our ministry. She loved helping young people," he said.
Ashburne, Hall said, preached at different churches in the area and was a "prayer warrior" who helped those in need.
According to Smith, the one who killed Ashburne was not a new criminal.
"These are the same bad guys that continually terrorise the citizens of Baltimore, and you have situations like this," he said.
A family friend told WBALTV that Ashburne "believes in everybody looking out for everybody, trying to do the best for somebody. How can you hurt a person that's trying to help somebody else?"
