Two men were shot Sunday afternoon in the Mondawmin neighborhood of West Baltimore, police said.
After the gunshots ended, the Rev. Westley West stepped from his church and saw a man across the street clutching his leg.
Another man was shot around the corner from the church, police said.
"What next casket will come before me?" the 28-year-old pastor asked aloud.
Officers were called about 3:15 p.m. to the double shooting on the 1800 block of Clifton Ave., police said. Two men were shot: a 26-year-old in his leg and 25-year-old in his chest, police said.
Two years ago, the activist opened his church nearby at Walbrook Avenue and North Monroe Street, a neighborhood where violence persists.
"Since I've been here, it hasn't been much better," West said. He led protests after the death of Freddie Gray; he also ran for City Council and lost.
Last week, a few blocks away, a gunman opened fire amid a candlelight vigil for a murdered man. Five people were shot in their legs and feet, one woman grazed in her stomach.
After Sunday's 9:30 a.m. service, West said he shook hands with worshipers outside the church when "at least 15 to 20 police cars" drove past.
Police were pursuing a man suspected in an alleged rape from Northwest to South Baltimore. The wanted man took four hostages inside a Burger King and surrendered after more than five hours. Read the full story here.
West preached again Sunday at 11:30 a.m., urging worshipers to rise up after adversity.
Later, the two men were shot around the corner from the church, police said. The man shot in his leg sat on a stoop across from the church, West said.
When he preaches, a wide window in back of the church shows the street and the bar Maceo's Lounge.
"You're trying to empower people whose backs are turned to a whole lot of drama," he said. "They sometimes follow my eyes."