The Crown Kingdom Cultural Center community in North Augusta, South Carolina, is mourning the tragic death of 76-year-old Jewel Harden, a devoted Christian woman who was shot and killed during a robbery on her way home from church last Sunday.

Harden, who lived in Hephzibah, Georgia, was fatally shot at a Sprint gas station on Edgefield Road alongside another victim, 33-year-old Thomas B. Lilly Jr. of Williston, South Carolina. Police say they received a call at 2:05 p.m. about an armed robbery with gunfire. When officers arrived, they confronted the suspect in the parking lot and shot him after he failed to surrender.

According to the North Augusta Department of Public Safety, officers discovered that two victims—Harden and Lilly—had already been shot before police arrived. The suspect, identified as 21-year-old J’Shawn Deontae Dukes, was armed with an AR-style pistol. He was injured by police fire and later taken into custody. His current condition remains unclear.

For those who knew Harden, the violent end to her life is incomprehensible. Friends and family describe her as a kind, faith-filled woman who spent her life serving others and her church community.

“Jewel was not only precious to this ministry, she was a pillar in the house of God,” said Pastor Finace Bush Jr. and his wife, Denise, in a statement from Crown Kingdom Cultural Center. “Her presence brought light, her worship stirred joy, and her service reflected the humility of Christ. The world may see tragedy, but heaven sees transition. The same Jesus who walked her through every trial in life walked her safely through the veil of eternity.”

Harden’s family shared that she had stopped to refuel on her way home from Sunday service when she was caught in the crossfire. A GoFundMe campaign set up to help cover funeral expenses described her final moments with heartbreaking clarity.

“Jewel was returning home from church and stopping to get gas when she was senselessly shot,” wrote the campaign’s organizer, Shane Settle. “She passed away as she tried to make her way into the gas station for help. It’s devastating to even comprehend that something like this could happen to such a kind and gentle soul.”

At a Bible study held in her honor on Wednesday, church members shared stories of Harden’s joyful spirit and deep love for God.

“Her spirit would always sit on that third row in the middle aisle,” recalled Rhonda Bush Johnson, the church’s member services manager. “Whatever’s going on in the church, Ms. Jewel sat on that third seat. She just loved people. She loved God. She loved church. When she walked up to you, you couldn’t resist her because she always had that big smile.”

Pastor Bush said Harden’s final words to him, shared just days before her death, have comforted the congregation through their grief.

“She said, ‘Bishop, I’m free because I listen, I hear, and I pay attention, and I do what you say, and the Word really does work,'” Bush shared. “She told me, ‘See this as a moment of transition because God has me, and I want y’all to know that I’m secure in Him.'”

For her church family, those words now serve as a lasting reminder of Harden’s unwavering faith and the peace she found in her Savior—a peace that even tragedy could not take away.