A deacon in Mississippi was killed this past weekend while protecting others at a church’s Easter egg hunt, the church’s senior pastor announced on Facebook.

Eddie Shed was fatally shot at the holiday event held by Empowerment Ministries Christian Center at a park in Gulfport, Mississippi, Senior Pastor Gregg Magee said. Shed served as a deacon and the head of security at the church.

“Our beloved Deacon Eddie Shed was taken from us in a senseless act of gun violence,” Magee said. “What began as a beautiful day filled with laughter and joy was overshadowed by a criminal act and we are all heartbroken by this senseless violence.”

Police said Shed died after intervening in a conflict involving a “child custody dispute” between Tyran Deion Gable and the mother, the Gulfport Police Department told WLOX.

Witnesses reportedly told police that Shed and another church member, Jimmy Vance, tried to de-escalate the situation and protect the children present at the event. Both Vance and Shed were shot in the process.

Vance was airlifted to a hospital in Mobile, Alabama, while Shed was pronounced dead at the scene, WLOX reported. According to a GoFundMe for Vance, he was shot multiple times and his injuries will require several months to heal.

Gable was also shot during the altercation and taken to a nearby hospital, police said.

Police have since arrested 24-year-old Gable and charged him with first-degree murder and aggravated assault in connection with the shooting, according to the Gulfport Police Department.

Gable has received no bond for the murder charge and a $250,000 bond for the aggravated assault charge, KFYR TV reported.

The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to the Gulfport Police Department for more details but did not hear back prior to publication.

“Deacon Shed epitomized the virtues of a hero, displaying selfless courage and bravery that ultimately saved others from harm,” Pastor Magee said. “He paid the ultimate price for his valor, and we are deeply saddened by this loss. . . we draw comfort from the assurance that we will one day be reunited with Deacon Shed.”

Shed’s church mourns his loss

The church described Shed as a “pillar of strength within our community and a beacon of light and hope.”

The church continued, that his “unwavering faith, kindness, and dedication to serving others have left an indelible mark on all who knew him.”

Church members told WLOX they are mourning the loss of a Shed as he was like family to all of them.

“This guy, he was a part of our family, our church – we are one big family, and so we are all grieving, as pastor all the way down to the babies themselves,” Pastor Gregg Magee told the publication. “He did a great heroic thing, but if I could go back and could change anything, I wouldn’t want it to be at the cost of his life.”

 “I wouldn’t expect nothing less from him to do something like that, nothing less. He was just a hero,” longtime church member Shatondria Ball added.

She said she is clinging to her faith in the midst of this tragedy. “We won’t let this go in vain. We just won’t let this go in vain,” Ball said.

The church’s First Lady, Irene Magee, told WLOX that Shed had a personality like a big teddy bear with a contagious sense of humor.

“He had this giggle and this smile – I’d seen him look serious but never saw him without a smile unless he was just doing his job and he was looking serious, like watching,” she said. “We will miss him, but his memory will live on here; it will live on in the heart of his church family.”

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up for Shed’s family. The deacon leaves behind his wife, Doris, and their three children.

A celebration of life will be held for Shed this Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, the church shared on Facebook.

“Please continue to keep the Shed family and his church family in your thoughts and prayers during this time of loss,” the church said.

Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.