Pastor Tammy McCollum’s husband begged for God’s help after confessing to her fatal shooting

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Eddie McCollum, who has been charged with the murder of his wife, Pastor Tammy McCollum, was shocked, hysterical and pleaded for God’s help after telling authorities that he fatally shot her during an argument inside their North Carolina home, 911 records show.

In the recording of his 911 call on the morning of April 6 to report the murder of his late wife of more than 30 years, Eddie McCollum, 61, was very clear.

“Oh my God, I just shot my wife,” he told a 911 dispatcher, according to a recording cited by Queen City News. “We were arguing. And I told her, I said… (inaudible).”

In portions of the call with the dispatcher, Eddie McCollum, who is in custody on a $1 million bond, also appeared to be questioning why he shot the woman who had once declared in a 2022 Facebook post that she wanted to spend her entire life with him.

“No, I shot her. Why? Oh God. My kids and my grandkids. Oh my God,” he told the 911 dispatcher as they worked on getting him help. “I can’t help her, she’s dead.”

At one point, as the dispatcher tried to determine how many people lived in the home of the McCollums, who are also grandparents, Eddie McCollum said, “Oh God. Lord help me.”

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a news release that shortly after 2 a.m. ET on April 6, they responded to an assault with a deadly weapon injury call to the couple’s residence. When they arrived, they found 58-year-old Tammy McCollum suffering from gunshot wounds, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Eddie McCollum was questioned by detectives, then arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Before the police arrived at the scene, the 911 dispatcher asked Eddie McCollum to exit the home with his hands up to meet them, and he declared, “No, I’m not leaving her.”

Tammy McCollum was a minister at The Well Worship Center in Statesville, where her husband, who worked as a teaching assistant at Southwest Middle School, also attended.

Last Friday, in honor of what would have been her 59th birthday, a group of about 200 people, including friends and family, gathered at Hornets' Nest Park in Charlotte to remember her life, according to WCNC.

"World of emotions — just mostly trying to hold it together for family and friends," Davion Forney, the couple's son, told the news outlet at the event where red balloons were released to reflect her favorite color.

"It's just going to be tough. A long road, probably for the rest of my life,” he added. "What was going through my mind at the time was she was being let free. She was going to be with the Lord and someone she highly praised."

On their 30th wedding anniversary in February 2022, Tammy McCollum publicly declared her love for her husband on her Facebook page.

“30 YEARS YA'LL!!! I am truly blessed and honored to have been married to this amazing man of God for 30 years, and I'm looking forward to the next 100 years together!” she said. “I love this man with all that is within me! Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to get it right the 1st time! Eddie McCollum, I LOVE YOU BABYLOVE!”

And Joyce Phillips, who worked alongside both Tammy and Eddie McCollum in ministry for eight years, told WCNC that she knows her husband loved her, too.

"I was numb because I had just seen Eddie," Phillips said at the balloon release event, still grappling with the murder. "The couple that I know — he really loved his wife. They loved each other."