A man has been charged after shocking footage emerged of the moment a church service in the US was thrown into chaos when a would-be assailant pulled a gun on a pastor mid-sermon.
A video taken by Clarence McCallister, deacon of Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, was posted online by the pastor in question, Glenn Germany, showing the moment he came face-to-face with the gunman – 26-year-old Bernard Polite.
In the video, Germany ducks out of the way, then McCallister can be seen leaping to his aid before tackling the armed man to the ground.
The pair of clergymen were able to keep Polite subdued until police turned up, taking the 26-year-old into custody.
Footage posted by the pastor showed the moment he came face-to-face with the gunman
Glenn Germany
Fortunately, Polite’s weapon did not discharge – which Pastor Germany put down as an act of divine intervention.
Germany said “I was like, this is not happening – I thank God, because only God stopped and jammed this gun.”
McCallister detailed his heroic reaction to CBS, and said he thought there was “something that needs to be done” before he “jumped up and handled [his] business”.
While the 26-year-old was in police custody, Germany said he talked to him about his motivation, and Polite revealed there were “voices” in his head.
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Jesus’ Dwelling Place in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, where the incident took place
The pastor said: “This guy was just dealing with spirits he said, and he came in and wanted to shoot somebody.
“He said you ducked a taco today, that’s what he told me, and I guess that’s slang for you ducked a bullet.” he said.
He added that it was apparent that Polite was struggling with a form of mental illness, and despite apologising to the pastor – who forgave him – he said he hasn’t processed what happened.
Germany’s 14-year-old daughter was sitting in on the service, and the pastor said: “The thing that hurts me the most and brings tears to my eyes because I couldn’t watch my daughter break down.”
He continued: “I still had to be strong, because I had to be strong for her, but I couldn’t take it, and just seeing her, that’s the part that’s hard for me to digest.”
In a chilling reveal, Germany said Polite had smiled at him just before the attempted shooting, and had walked in and out of the room several times before taking aim.
But the pastor has said he hopes to use the shocking events for good, and plans to stress to parishioners that mental illness is real in future.
Polite now faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault and attempted homicide; he has had his bail denied and now faces a preliminary hearing on his charges next week.
Source Agencies
