Four arrested after Conway-area pastor attacked at church

An attack at a Conway-area church Sunday led to a pastor being punched in the head and four people facing criminal charges, according to police records.

Horry County officers responded to the Divine Deliverance Worship Center at 1262 U.S. 501 Business around 11:30 a.m. after receiving a call about a fight there, according a news release from county police.

In the parking lot, police spoke to the injured pastor, a 54-year-old man whose name was redacted from police report.

The pastor told police he had tried to keep four people from coming into the church, but one of them broke a front window with his hand. Then the group entered and three attackers started punching the pastor, the report said.

The pastor had been hit in the head and felt dizzy but declined medical attention, according to a police report. The pastor told police he was punched because some of those involved in the attack had made accusations against him.

The nature of the accusations is unclear because those details were redacted from the police report, though the document indicates that they involve something that happened at a church in Murrells Inlet.

Police charged 21-year-old Toria Nesbitt of Myrtle Beach with assault and battery by mob in the third degree, disturbance of religious worship and malicious damage to a place of worship.

Bruce R. Edwards Jr., a 19-year-old from Myrtle Beach, was charged with assault and battery by mob in the third degree, disturbance of religious worship and malicious damage to a place of worship.

Daisha P. Cooper, a 19-year-old from Conway, was charged with assault and battery by mob in the third degree and disturbance of religious worship.

Kimberly S. Kirby, a 27-year-old from Conway, was charged with disturbance of religious worship.

Police arrested Edwards, Cooper and Kirby and took them to the Horry County jail.

Nesbitt punched the window to enter the church and injured his arm in the process, the report said. He was taken to Conway Medical Center for surgery. Police said they will monitor him until he is released and then take him to jail.

This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Four arrested after Conway-area pastor attacked at church."