Woolen

No one believed in prayer more than Pastor Mark Allen McWilliams, Starrville Methodist Church member Ray Brady said.

“He’s the type of person who when you meet him, you’re thinking you’ve known him all your life,” Brady said Monday while standing in front of the church building outside Winona. “He was wonderful.”

McWilliams was killed at the church Sunday morning before the service. Mytrez Deunte Woolen, 21, was booked into the Smith County Jail on charges of capital murder by terror threat or other felony, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the incident. Bond on the capital murder charge is $2 million. The other charges carry a bond of $750,000 apiece.

Woolen was a suspect in two drive-by shootings and was hiding out in the church, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said.

McWilliams found Woolen in the bathroom. The pastor pulled his firearm out, but Woolen lunged at him, got his firearm and shot McWilliams, who died on the scene.

The pastor’s wife, Rosemary, was treated for a minor injury but was released and in good medical condition, Smith said.

Brady said Rosemary was staying with him and his wife. On Monday morning, he was at the church picking up her car and purse.

“She’s doing pretty good; she slept a little bit last night,” he said. “We went and picked up her dog, and she came to our house. She’s just like a sister to me, and we want to do everything we can for her.”

The pastor’s shooting death on Sunday elicited calls for prayer for those affected by the incident from Gov. Greg Abbott and state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola.

U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert on Monday said in a written statement that he wishes heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the pastor.

“Mark was a blessing to our entire area where his love for and service to so many others will be sorely missed,” Gohmert said. “My prayers embrace the victims of this senseless tragedy and their families. Thank you also to our brave law enforcement who tracked down and apprehended the calloused killer whose string of violence extended far and wide. May God cradle the victims and their families in His love so they find comfort during this incredibly difficult time. May justice be swift and sure.”

Woolen also was taken to the hospital and treated for an injury, Smith said. He had a cut on his hand, but it was minor and he was released from the hospital.

Another man was shot on the scene and underwent surgery and is in stable condition, Smith said.

The incident began with a pursuit around 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening, when police heard reports that Woolen, driving a dark-colored vehicle, brandished a shotgun out of the sunroof on FM 849 in Lindale, Smith said.

A sheriff’s deputy saw the vehicle in the parking lot of the Chevron Convenience Store at 303 S. Main St. in Lindale and attempted to contact Woolen, but he fled, speeding across Farm-to-Market roads and Interstate 20 at rates of 100 mph until his vehicle crashed on the property of Starrville Methodist Church and Woolen ran into the woods.

Law enforcement worked to establish a perimeter, bringing in K-9 deputies and a drone to help find Woolen. A shotgun was recovered at the scene of the crash.

The search area was expanded after several hours, “as it was felt that the suspect had escaped the perimeter,” according to a news release. Law enforcement personnel remained in the area for several more hours.

Smith said during a news conference Sunday that Woolen broke into the church to hide sometime between 2 to 9 a.m. that morning.

Winona Mayor Curtis Land said the church is outside city limits, so he had no information on the shooting and said he did not know the pastor.

As far as other shootings in Winona, Land said there was a domestic shooting last year when a man killed his wife, but shootings are uncommon in the city.

Law enforcement said Woolen lives in Marshall, although two previous arrests in Harrison County — one in 2020 and another in 2019 — list his address as Dallas and Arlington, respectively.

Woolen was charged with burglary of a habitation and unlawfully carrying a weapon in 2019. The following year, he was arrested on a warrant of aggravated assault of a deadly weapon out of Tarrant County and a probation violation.

Marshall ISD spokesman David Weaver said Woolen attended Marshall ISD, but left in 2014, which would have been his freshman year. He said records indicate Woolen transferred to Arlington ISD.

Starrville Methodist Church has an attendance of about 12 people, Brady said. McWilliams had been pastor there for about a year. There will be a prayer service at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the church.

“We don’t know where we’re going now,” Brady said.