Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
A renowned Baptist pastor and mayor of Alabama, in the United States, Bubba Copeland, committed suicide on Friday.
He took his life just a day after a conservative news site published a story about his “secret life” and shared photos of him wearing women’s clothes.
The mayor, who served as the pastor at the First Baptist Church of Phenix City, spoke on the issue on Wednesday, according to Yahoo news.
He told his church members that the photographs were a private matter, pointing out that the incident would not change “my devotion to my family, to serving my city, serving my church.”
“Yes, I have taken pictures with my wife in the privacy of our home in an attempt of humor because I know I’m not a handsome man nor a beautiful woman, either,” Copeland told the congregation. “I apologize for any embarrassment caused by my private, personal life.”
On Friday afternoon, authorities in Lee County were asked to perform a welfare check on the mayor, according to a local television station WTVM reported.
Copeland was found in Beulah, an unincorporated community in the northeast corner of Lee County, authorities said.
Deputies began slowly pursuing Copeland, who at one point, pulled over, exited the vehicle and produced a handgun, which he used to take his own life.
Early on Saturday, the church posted a message on Facebook thanking people for their “prayers and expressions of sympathy and support.”
“First and foremost, we ask that you keep Pastor Bubba Copeland’s family in your prayers today, and in the days ahead,” the message read.
“We greatly appreciate your messages, comments, and encouragement. Please continue to pray for us as we move forward in sharing God’s love to all people”