Florida pastor hailed as 'hero' after being killed in case of mistaken identity

Akeem Moore, a 31-year-old Florida pastor, was shot and killed by a man who mistook Moore’s girlfriend for another woman, police say. 

Moore and his girlfriend, Loren Wilder, 30, were sitting in his car outside her home after a date early in the morning on Sept. 27 when Hugh Milner Jr., 38, walked up about 12:30 a.m. and started shouting at them, prosecutors say. 

Milner was charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm and shooting into an occupied vehicle. 

Moore was minister of worship at Mount Calvary Baptist Church of West Palm Beach and served in its social media, technology and evangelistic outreach ministries, the church said in a statement signed by its senior pastor, Bishop W. Oshea Granger.

"Akeem is known for his steadfast dedication to our ministry and as a sound, inspiring preacher of the Gospel," the church statement reads. "His commitment was evident in his disciplined studies, dedication in service, and devoted stewardship of all God entrusted to him during his brief life."

Milner used to date Wilder’s older sister, Shavon Wilder, 39, and believed she was the woman in the passenger seat.

West Palm Beach Police Chief Tony Araujo said during a news conference that Milner came to the passenger side, hit the window and pulled a gun from his waistband. Wilder recognized him and immediately realized he had the wrong people, the chief said.

Wilder told police that Milner called out from beside the car, “Is this what we are doing now?” She also said he had sent Shavon threatening texts shortly before, according to CBS 12.

Milner aimed the handgun at the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. Moore lowered his window and told him the woman beside him was not Shavon, police said.

Moore was putting his Ford Fusion in reverse to get away when Milner fired, and a bullet hit the minister in the back, The Palm Beach Post reported, citing the arrest report.

The shooting happened in a parking lot on Ontario Drive, near Cardinal Newman High School.

Moore told Wilder he had been shot, and the two saw blood on his back and called 911. He then drove about a mile to a fire station. Paramedics took him to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where he died later that morning.

“Akeem should be remembered as a hero,” Araujo said. “Even after being shot, he acted selflessly and courageously.”

Araujo was referring to Moore’s effort to get Wilder to safety.

Wilder believed Milner had come to their home to kill her sister, and she feared for her own life when the shots hit the car, according to the probable cause affidavit. She told officers she feared losing both Moore and Shavon.

Milner drove off in a black Hyundai Elantra, police said. Using license-plate cameras and the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system, investigators identified the car within hours and traced it to Broward County, where deputies found it and arrested him.

Milner was moved late Wednesday to the Palm Beach County Jail, where Circuit Judge Donald W. Hafele denied him bail at a hearing Thursday.

Moore’s uncle, Willie Webb, told West Palm Beach television station WPBF that his nephew had walked neighborhoods and invited people to church since childhood. Webb said the family wanted people to know “his life was not in vain.”

He taught at Renaissance Charter School at Cypress in West Palm Beach, belonged to the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and was studying for a Master of Divinity degree at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

People who knew him recalled his preaching, his singing and his playing on drums, piano and keyboard.

State Rep. Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds, whose district includes parts of West Palm Beach and northern Palm Beach County, wrote on Facebook that Moore “deserved more time.”

Malik Brown, a cousin, said Moore was born with a God-given talent and could hold a room of 200 to 300 people at age 7.