1 year after deadly Lexington church shooting, pastor reflects on loss, faith, and recovery
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – One year after a mass shooting at a Lexington church left 2 people dead and 2 others injured, the pastor who survived is reflecting on the day that changed his life — and the faith that has helped him move forward.
Police say on July 13, 2025, Guy House opened fire at Richmond Road Baptist Church following Sunday service, killing Beverly Gumm and Christina Combs. Pastor Jerry Gumm and his son-in-law, Randy Combs, survived.
Pastor Gumm was shot at least five times.
“As I was telling the church yesterday, I was laying in the mud over there, my tongue was split in two. The bullet had cut it from front to back. The police told me I was laying in the mud, my tongue was hanging out of my mouth in two pieces. If it hadn’t been for my tongue catching it, that bullet would’ve gone up and I would’ve been gone,” Gumm said.
The physical recovery was long. Gumm spent time in a coma at UK’s Trauma Center before transferring to Cardinal Hill for rehabilitation. He was so severely injured, he could not attend the funerals for his wife and daughter.
“I miss them terrible. They were both just about round-the-clock workers, they never quit. They never quit. Life was beautiful with them. And they’re not here now. That’s the worst thing I had to come to,” Gumm said.
A year later, the scars remain — both physical and emotional.
“This is where he — that’s where the surgeons cut into me to go back in here to find the bullets. They were homemade shrapnel bullets,” Gumm said.
Through the grief, Gumm says his faith and the support of his community have carried him through. While some members left the congregation after the shooting, many stayed to help rebuild.
“I’ve had so many blessings. I couldn’t be bitter if I wanted to be,” Gumm said.
This October will mark 55 years of Gumm pastoring Richmond Road Baptist Church. Despite everything he has endured, he says he has no plans to walk away — and hopes the church continues on for decades longer.
“We’re not done. Not about to be done. When they carry me out feet first, I’ll be done. But my prayer is they’re gonna continue on when I’m gone,” Gumm said.
Gumm says he refuses to let the shooting define what he does going forward.
“I would not let that monster change my life of what I do. Now he has changed my life: what I don’t have. What he’s done to us. That has changed us, that’s for sure. But I’m not letting him stop me from serving the Lord,” Gumm said.
