Church of Wells members injured following physical fight during community parade

KETK NBC News, Texas/April 8, 2014

Wells, Texas -- Two 'Church of Wells' members, Sean Morris (Elder of the church) and Taylor Clifton, were reportedly injured following a physical altercation Saturday afternoon during the Wells homecoming parade, an annual community event.

According to eye witnesses in attendance, church members were street preaching or, 'open-air' preaching during the parade. Witnesses say church members, Morris and Clifton; and others, were preaching "harshly" and allegedly screaming, "You're going to hell" to children, parents and parade-goers.

Witnesses say a father of one of the young children in the parade, and a volunteer firefighter from Cherokee County, approached Morris and Clifton asking them to refrain from speaking that way in front of the young children. Witnesses say, Clifton "shoved" a Bible toward the face of the man who confronted him, that's what prompted the fight.

KETK News spoke exclusively to Morris, Elder of the Church of Wells, about the incident. Morris said, "There was no insulting, no threats, no mockery, and absolutely no focus on children. Our preaching focus was on the adults. We were preaching the gospel. This town is steeped in crime, drugs, and religious hypocrisy and we care about their souls, so we open air preached the gospel message like Jesus did!"

Morris goes on to tells KETK News,"Taylor (Clifton) was pounded in the face without raising a hand in defense, his face bloody and dripping, his heart swelled with forgiveness." Morris said, "I was hit, head butted, and tackled to the ground by a man, and am at present unable to walk."

However, community members of Wells recall the event differently than Morris. One eye-witness, who wishes to remain anonymous, says Morris was not even out there preaching at the beginning. As soon as he came out of the house, one resident tells us, "You would have thought it was Jesus Christ himself walking outside because the other guys became silent and let Morris start yelling." They also say Morris was never hit repeatedly. Once he stepped on the road, the eye-witness says Morris was punched once in the jaw and was laid out. He also told KETK the Wells Volunteer Fire Department began blaring their sirens to drown out the screaming by church members prior to the fight.

According to Morris no charges were filed and no arrests were made following the physical altercation. KETK News has tried numerous times to get in touch with the Wells Police Department and the Cherokee County Sheriff office to confirm the incident.

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