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Indianapolis Shooting: Pastor’s Wife Shot And Later Died During An Apparent Home Invasion

By Kim Brandow
Published on: 06:22 PST, Nov 12, 2015

An Indianapolis shooting occurred during an apparent home invasion that killed the pregnant wife of a local pastor. The incident that happened on Tuesday, November 10 left Amanda Blackburn fighting for her life after being shot in the head. She spent two days on a ventilator but was taken off life support and passed away.

The 28-year-old mother left behind a young son who was home at the time of the supposed robbery. She was also 12 weeks pregnant with her second child. According to USA Today, this horrible tragedy occurred around 8:30 in the morning at the Blackburn’s Indianapolis home on the southwest side of the city. Pastor Davey Blackburn came home after spending the morning at the gym to discover his wife lying on the floor unconscious. Their toddler son was in the other room at the time of the shooting but was not hurt.

Police are investigating the Indianapolis shooting but have not revealed whether they have any suspects at this time. Neighbors are being questioned, and a $1,000 reward is being offered at this time for any information leading up to an arrest. Authorities have said that another home in that same area had previously been broken into. That one is being investigated as well to find out if there is any link between this one and the Blackburn home where the fatal shooting occurred.

Indianapolis police are hoping their investigation will lead up to figuring out who killed Amanda Blackburn. Police Sgt. Kendale Adams told ABC News that the home invasion looked like it took a dark turn.

“Our detectives believe this was a robbery likely to have gone foul. They are following up on several promising leads but at this point, they have not released suspect information.”

Davey Blackburn is a pastor at the Resonate Church in Indianapolis. He and his wife had moved to the area in 2012 from South Carolina and had made a life doing their ministry work together. The heartbroken husband wrote a message on the church’s website about losing his wife and best friend.

“It’s impossible to communicate all the emotions my heart has been forced to process. My wife was such a beautiful, gracious, loving woman of God. I have not only lost my ministry partner and support, but also my very best friend.”

The young shooting victim was a native of Elkhart, Indiana. According to the South Bend Tribune, Amanda was the daughter of Phil Byars, who is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Elkhart.

Family and faith were most important to her, members of the Resonate Church told CBS 4 in Indianapolis. The tragic shooting that took the life of this vibrant young mother and her unborn child has shocked everyone who knew her, as well as those who live in that area. According to WTHR, neighbors in the area where the Indianapolis shooting happened said that they are now nervous after word got around about this fatal home invasion. In fact, a few of the residents told police about a couple of strange occurrences that was noticed on Tuesday.

Members of the church have been praying and giving support to the victim’s husband and young son. Worship Pater Derek Barrett reflected on who Amanda was.

“She was all about people coming to know Jesus, that’s who she was as a person. You could see it in her family life, in her personal life and in her church life.”

The church has also set up a support fund for the family. They mentioned having “extremely heavy hearts” during this time but are still praying for better things to come through this tragedy.

[Photo by Pixabay]

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