Gunshot wound claims Episcopal minister
Antoinette Konz
American Staff Writer

Michael Osborne was an ordained Episcopal minister with seven children and two grandchildren who loved God and his fellow man.

On Thursday, family members say the 52-year-old left his Lake Serene home around 6 p.m. to go to Lowe's on U.S. 98 in Hattiesburg, likely to buy supplies to fix the damage done to his property caused by Hurricane Katrina.

What happened next has left the Hattiesburg Police Department with a murder investigation and his family and friends with a lot of unanswered questions.

Paramedics found Osborne dead of a gunshot wound to his shoulder around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Police say shortly after being shot in the 1200 block of Coit Street, he crashed his red Chevrolet Suburban into a telephone pole on the corner of Dewey and Loula streets. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

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