NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. (KDKA) — A church service in North Braddock, Pennsylvania was upended Sunday when a man pulled a gun on the pastor in the middle of his sermon.
Pennsylvania State Police have charged 26-year-old Bernard Polite of Braddock and say he entered and attempted to shoot pastor Glenn Germany while the pastor was delivering a sermon at Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church on Sunday just after 2 p.m.
Video taken by the church’s deacon, and posted online by the Pastor Glenn Germany, shows the moment the pastor suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
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“I was like, this is not happening,” Pastor Germany said.
Yet somehow, it was, but no shot was fired.
“I thank God because only God stopped and jammed this gun,” Germany said.
As the pastor ducked out of the way, church Deacon Clarence McCallister leaps in front of the camera, tackling the man with the gun to the ground.
McCallister told us it was just how his mind reacted.
“There’s something that needs to be done and I jumped up and handled my business,” McCallister said.
“He’s a hero,” Germany said of McCallister.
McCallister and Germany were able to keep Polite subdued until police arrived and then he was taken into custody.
Polite now faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault and attempted homicide.
While in police custody, Germany spoke to Polite.
“This guy was just dealing with spirits he said, and he came in and wanted to shoot somebody,” Germany said, adding Polite said their were voices in his mind.
It was apparent to Germany that Polite faces a form of mental illness, he said.
“He said you ducked a taco today, that’s what he told me, and I guess that’s slang for you ducked a bullet.
Polite apologized to Germany, he said. Germany forgave him, but says he hasn’t processed what happened.
“The thing that hurts me the most and brings tears to my eyes because I couldn’t watch my daughter break down.”
His 14-year-old daughter was sitting among the pews during the service.
“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,” Germany said.
Before the attempted shooting, Germany said Polite smiled at him.
Germany is hoping to use the story and stress to his parishioners that mental illness is real. The man had walked in and out of the room several times, Germany said.
Police investigating deadly shooting at home of suspect
Allegheny County Police are investigating after a man was found shot to death inside the home where Bernard Polite lives.
Police say that officers from the Eastern Regional Mon Valley Police Department were called about a shooting along Stokes Avenue around 8 p.m.
KDKA’s Ricky Sayer
When police arrived at the scene, they found a man shot to death inside the home.
Detectives from the Allegheny County Police Department’s homicide unit were called and are now handling the investigation.
The victim inside the home has not yet been identified and it’s unclear if Polite, who lives at the home, is responsible for the shooting.
A neighbor told KDKA they heard a gunshot earlier in the day, but weren’t sure where it had come from.