Pastor who was putting up flags for Memorial Day was shot in Connecticut

A Connecticut pastor was shot while he was putting up flags in honor of Memorial Day.(Photo: REUTERS)

Rev. Augustus Sealy, a Connecticut pastor is now regaining his strength after he was shot twice outside his church on Sunday morning while he was putting out flags in honour of Memorial Day.

According to NBC Connecticut, Sealy, 54 sustained several gun shot wounds to his body - two on the right leg and one on his left shoulder. He was immediately rushed to St. Francis Hospital after the attack.

A witness claimed to have heard five gunshots after a black car heading west slowed down near the First Church of the Nazarene before a person inside the vehicle began shooting at Sealy, who was planting small flags in the church's lawn. Authorities recovered seven shell casings from the scene of the crime. Police are still searching for the suspect.

Sealy's wife shared that his femur was shattered by the bullets and doctors had to put a metal rod in his leg. Sealy is in a lot of pain, she added, but he is expected to make a full recovery.

"He hasn't lost any hope," Sealy's wife said. "You know, this is something that was really terrible and shouldn't have happened and we've already prayed for that person who actually committed the crime."

Rev. Eustace McDonald of Brooklyn, New York preached at the First Church of the Nazarene a few hours after Sealy was shot, and said that the congregation was puzzled and trying to make sense of the attack.

"Misfortune in life comes to us all," he told them. "You have to go to a place of hope."

Another attack also occured that same day against 27-year-old Robert Jones. He was also rushed to the St. Francis Hospital and is now in stable condition. Police are looking into whether the two incidents are related.