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Pastor Timothy Johnson was outside cleaning his mother’s property — in Fernwood, Chicago, Illinois — when he was viciously attacked by a man from the neighborhood. Johnson is a minister at Salem Baptist Church. The sudden attack happened on May 1, 2021.
Johnson stated the male subject approached him offering to sell the couple some watches. The Chicago pastor declined the man’s proposal. Suddenly the South Side resident attacked Johnson with a shovel the pastor had been using.
During the vicious attack, the male suspect bit both of Johnson’s ears. The pastor’s wife attempted to help her husband resulting in her being beaten and both ears bitten. According to ABC Chicago, Johnson said the attack was “a tremendous blow to my wife and family.” The pastor’s wife said that her life had “been changed, 100%.”
Police responded to the incident and arrested Elijah Rule Prince, age 28. According to Cook County prosecutors, Prince allegedly told the officers the blood he was covered in was the “blood of peasants.”
Prince has been placed under psychiatric evaluation at a local hospital. He was not present at his bond hearing held on Tuesday, May 4. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the judge presiding over Prince’s first court appearance thought he had been “listening to a horror movie.”
After Prince viciously attacked Johnson with the shovel he proceeded to punch the pastor in the face. Prince then gouged Johnson’s eyes with his fingers before biting his ears and top of his head. Prosecutors say that Prince then spits into the Chicago minister’s mouth.
At some point during the altercation Prince jammed a three-inch block into Johnson’s left eye. Upon hearing the disturbance, Johnson’s wife rushed outside. According to prosecutors, Prince allegedly yanked her hair and gouged her eyes.
He then bit her ears, ripping off “large chunks” before he spat on her. After she fell to the ground Prince began to kick her repeatedly in the head.
The Chicago pastor called 911 after he pulled the wooden block out of his eye. Prince ran from the area after witnesses began to gather. Officers were able to locate the suspect a short time later at a nearby location.
Many people in the neighborhood are shocked and horrified by the vicious attack. Pastor Johnson and his wife have been beloved figures in the community for many years. The couple has dedicated their lives to helping others. It is hard to believe something so horrible could happen to them.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
ABC Chicago: Chicago pastor and wife brutally attacked on South Side; parts of ears bitten off; by Leah Hope
CBS Chicago: Pastor And Wife Recovering After Attacker Bit Off Parts Of Their Ears, Gouged Their Eyes In Vicious Beating; by Jim Williams
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Inventorchris’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License