Pastor's Wife Commits Suicide In Texas Gun Store Parking Lot

The wife of a Texas pastor reportedly took her own life this weekend in the parking lot of McClelland Gun Shop, located in East Dallas, Texas, presumably using the pistol she had just purchased from the firearms supplier, according to reports.

Harriet Deison, 65, wife of Pastor Pete Deison of Park Cities Presbyterian Church, was found dead in her Lexus Sedan after employees of McClelland Gun Shop heard gunfire around 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29. It appeared as though Deison shot herself.

Authorities are reporting that Deison took her own life, although no suicide note was left at the scene of the shooting.

In an op-ed piece in The Chattanoogan, columnist Roy Exum, a friend of the Deison family, said the pastor's wife "charmed all of our hearts" and "exemplified her life into a role model that hundreds of women have followed."

"I believe she could do anything from arranging flowers to running a big company in Dallas, both of which she did adroitly," Exum added.

In addition to serving the church congregation as the pastor's wife, Deison also ran the Minwood One Corp., described by MerchantBook as a "collection agencies industry."

Dallas police Sgt. Shelley Johnston has said, according to The Dallas Morning News, that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives plans to send an investigator to McClelland Gun Shop early this week to ensure all legal procedures were followed for the gun purchased by Deison.

Andrew Young, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, added that sending an investigator to the gun shop was a standard follow-up procedure in such circumstances.

"This kind of thing happens, unfortunately," he said. "It's really hard on the dealers when someone buys a gun and takes their life with the gun in the parking lot."

Deison is survived by her husband, two children, and five grandchildren.