An investigation is underway after a Florida pastor’s son was shot and killed outside his father’s church over the weekend.
Twenty-year-old Roderick Wilson Jr. was found dead in the parking lot of Pentecostal Church of God in Winter Haven early on Sunday morning (Oct. 22) after an altercation with 22-year-old Taquion “Quan” Cotton, an alleged gang member.
Police do not yet know what caused the altercation that led to the shooting.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) said in a press release that emergency services were contacted around 1:47 a.m. on Sunday by someone who was passing by the church and saw Wilson’s body.
Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene after PCSO deputies arrived and discovered he had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Wilson had been living in an apartment on the church’s property, and he worked for the church.
“Detectives are still trying to determine Taquion Cotton’s motivation to commit this murder. At this time, there is no indication the two men knew each other prior to [the day of the murder],” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “Despite the murderer being locked-up, there is still work to be done. Please keep Roderick Wilson’s family in your thoughts and prayers.”
On Sunday, PSCO detectives obtained security footage that captured the confrontation between Wilson and Cotton on the street in front of the church.
Following the initial confrontation, Cotton drove away. After circling the block several times, Cotton returned to the church to argue with Wilson further before shooting and killing him, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.
Later in the day, police apprehended Cotton in a residential area near the crime scene. Cotton was arrested after fleeing to a nearby residence, attacking a woman and putting her in a chokehold as she entered her home.
