Ebun Olowu
A Ghanaian pastor and founder of Floodgates of Heaven International Ministries, Sylvester Ofori, has been arrested on a murder charge after Orlando police say he shot and killed his 27-year-old wife, Barbara Tommey, outside her job at the Navy Federal Credit Union near the Mall at Millenia on Tuesday morning.
Barbara Tommey was shot several times by her husband near the business’ front doors on the 4600 block of Gardens Park Boulevard just before 9 a.m., an Orlando Police Department spokesperson said. Tommey was an employee of Navy Federal Credit Union, the spokesperson said.
Tommey was pronounced dead at Orlando Regional Medical Center shortly afterward.
Ofori, 35, was taken into custody at his apartment Tuesday evening, the OPD spokesperson said. He is being held at the Orange County Jail without bond on a charge of first degree murder with a firearm.
During a press conference on Tuesday morning, Chief Orlando Rolón said the shooting was captured on video.
“You can tell that she was surprised by what was happening,” he said.
Word of Ofori’s arrest reached African news outlets, as he is a pastor at Floodgates of Heaven International Ministries, a church based in Parramore. Calling himself a prophet and motivational speaker, Ofori’s ministry has reached tens of thousands of people. His Facebook page has more than 60,000 followers and the church’s page has about 5,600.
A day before the shooting, a photo was posted to his page with the words, “One thing ppl gotta understand about extremely kind, nice, loving people is that their other side is just as EXTREME.”
Hundreds of people responded to the post after news broke of Tommey’s killing, some with prayers for her to rest in peace, others with anger or disbelief about what Ofori’s was accused of doing.
