A Minnesota pastor has been charged with assault after police say he stabbed the ex-boyfriend of his longtime girlfriend during a confrontation in Saint Paul. Terrence Philip Walker Sr., 61, was charged in Ramsey County with two counts of second-degree assault involving a dangerous weapon after officers responded to a stabbing report on June 25, 2026.
According to police and court documents cited in local reports, officers arrived at the scene and found the alleged victim suffering from stab wounds. Walker was identified as a suspect, but authorities said he had left the area before officers located him at a nearby church. Reports identify Walker as the senior pastor of Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Saint Paul.
Investigators said the confrontation appeared to involve a dispute over tools. Court documents cited by local media say the alleged victim believed Walker and Walker’s girlfriend were selling his tools and had gone to the residence to ask for receipts. Officials have not charged Walker with anything related to the tool allegations.
The alleged victim reportedly shares a child with Walker’s longtime girlfriend, adding a personal connection to the dispute. Charging details cited by local outlets also state that the alleged victim had previously been a member of the same church where Walker served as pastor. The case therefore moved quickly from a domestic-related confrontation into a criminal assault investigation involving people who knew one another through both family and church connections.
A witness told police she heard what sounded like “slashing” during the confrontation and alleged that Walker continued attacking the injured man even after he was bleeding, according to court documents cited by PEOPLE, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and KARE 11. Police have not publicly confirmed every detail of that witness account, but the allegation is now part of the reported basis for the criminal case.
Walker allegedly told investigators that the other man attacked him first, prompting him to pull out a knife, according to court documents cited in local reports. That claim suggests the defense may focus on self-defense, while prosecutors are expected to rely on the stabbing injuries, witness statements and the sequence of events before Walker was found at the church.
As of the latest public reporting, it was not immediately clear whether Walker had entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf. The case remains active in Ramsey County, where prosecutors will now have to prove what happened during the confrontation and whether the stabbing was a criminal assault or an act Walker claims was defensive.
