Man Tries To Kill Pastor During Sermon

A man tried to shoot a pastor at a church in North Braddock in Pennsylvania on Sunday. According to police, the pastor was trying to deliver a sermon to his congregation at ​​the Jesus Dwelling Place Church when 26-year-old Bernard Junior Polite pulled out a gun and “attempted to shoot the pastor.”

WATCH: Man Tries To Shoot Pastor During Sermon, Gets Tackled https://t.co/D6wCqPnz1b pic.twitter.com/hqjYgGBwTn

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In a statement on the incident, police said, “Polite pointed a firearm at the pastor, attempted to shoot, but the firearm failed to discharge. A congregation member took immediate action by grabbing onto Polite. The member and the pastor were able to subdue and disarm Polite. Polite was held until Troopers arrived.”

According to police, Polite has been charged with attempted homicide.

Speaking to local media, Pastor Glenn Germany, the target of the attempted shooting, said that he had not seen Polite before that day. However, he said he had noticed him coming in and out of the building and even made direct eye contact with him at some point.

“I started to begin to preach and all of a sudden, from my left-hand side, I saw him move from the back to the front of the church, and he set up in the front corner of the church and smiled at me. All of a sudden, I just saw a gun pointing right at me. And at that point, all I could try to do is run for cover,” he said.

“I’m thankful to God that I’m still here, because he definitely pulled the trigger,” he added.

Germany also praised the member of his congregation who stepped into the situation and tackled the suspect. Per NBC 10, a live stream of the service showed the member, identified as Deacon Clarence McCallister, jump into the situation from behind and tackle Polite to the ground. He and Germany then wrestle the gun out of the suspect’s hand.

“He could have lost his life in that struggle. But he sacrificed himself for everyone, and he’s the hero,” he stated.

According to police, the gun jammed and failed to fire. Germany chalked this up to an act from God, saying, “He pulled the gun; it clicked. You heard him shoot it. God jammed the gun so the bullet didn’t come out.”

Polite was not a member of the church and had entered the church around 1 p.m. that day after hearing music coming from that direction. He told police that voices in his head had told him to shoot Germany. According to him, he planned to wait for police to arrest him after he shot Germany so that he could go to jail and clear his mind.