Current:Home > FinancePoinbank Exchange|Man points gun at Pennsylvania pastor during church, police later find body at man's home -GrowthSphere Strategies
Poinbank Exchange|Man points gun at Pennsylvania pastor during church, police later find body at man's home
SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-08 05:49:04
Law enforcement in Western Pennsylvania are Poinbank Exchangeinvestigating after video footage shows a 26-year-old man pulled a gun on a preacher during a live-streamed church service Sunday.
Police are also investigating after they reported that officers also found a man fatally shot to death in the suspect's home later that evening.
Just before 1:10 p.m., Pennsylvania State Police say troopers responded to Jesus' Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock after the suspect enter the church and attempted to shoot the preacher during his sermon.
North Braddock, a borough in Allegheny County, is about 9 miles southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.
'Jezebel spirit':Pastor kicked off stage at Christian conference in Missouri
Suspect identified, pastor speaks
Troopers identified the suspect as Bernard Junior Polite of North Braddock.
"Polite pointed a firearm at the pastor, attempted to shoot, but the firearm failed to discharge," police wrote in a news release.
"The gun did not go off, but he definitely pulled the trigger," the preacher, Glenn Germany, told USA TODAY Monday morning by phone. "It was a gentleman who randomly did something up the road... and the next place he came was the church. He said spirits were telling him to shoot a pastor."
Video shows suspect point gun directly at preacher in pulpit
Video obtained by USA TODAY shows a man in a black T-shirt walk directly toward Germany as he preaches, pull out a firearm and aim it directly at him.
Immediately, a church congregant runs up behind the armed suspect, tackles him and Germany and another churchgoer help disarm the suspect on the ground.
Germany identified the congregant who tackled the suspect as Clarence McCallister, a 63-year-old deacon who has attended the church for the past nine years.
"Everything is well," Germany said, his voice raspy as if he had not slept much. "At this point it's just about being grateful. "
'He smiled at me', pastor says of man who pulled gun on him
Prior to the armed suspect entering the sanctuary, Germany said he noticed the suspect in the building.
"He came in and out of the church a couple times, during praise and worship and then all the sudden he sat in the back and came to the front and he smiled at me," Germany recalled.
"He stopped in the middle of the pulpit, pulled the gun out and it just jammed," Germany recalled, before covering his face with his hands and trying to take cover.
Body later found at home near church
Later that day, at 8:15 p.m., the Allegheny County Police Department reported officers found a man fatally shot inside the home where Polite lives.
Police reported the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office identified the fatal shooting victim to USA TODAY as Derek Polite, 56, of North Braddock.
As of Monday afternoon no charges had been filed in connection to the homicide and it was not immediately known how the armed church suspect and person found dead in the home were related.
USA TODAY has reached out to state troopers and police for confirmation.
Australian church stabbing:Sydney church stabbing that left 4 including bishop hurt deemed 'terrorist' act, sparked riot
Germany was preaching about miracles before gun jammed
Germany, who has worked at the church for 14 years, said about 50 people regularly attend the Sunday morning church service,
The preacher said his brother, Gary Germany, is the church's senior pastor who usually preaches each Sunday.
Before the melee, Germany said he was preaching about understanding God's ways.
"How he is able to heal and perform miracles, and how his ways can keeping you out of harms way," Germany said.
After police arrived and took the suspect into custody, Germany said the congregation stayed at the church for several hours to support one another and try and make some sense of what took place
"We stayed until 5 p.m. trying to decipher the whole situation," Germany said. "We were all ignorant as to why he came in. No one knew him."
"I really thank God because I was informed after church the police were at his house and found (a relative) shot to death," Germany said.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
veryGood! (63944)
Related
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Russia’s envoy uses the stage at a military forum in China to accuse the US of fueling tensions
- American man indicted on murder charges over deadly attack on 2 U.S. women near German castle
- 'Huge' win against Bears could ignite Chargers in wide open AFC
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- China’s declining aid to Pacific islands increasingly goes to allies, think tank reports
- Matthew Perry's Friends community reacts to his death at 54
- Steelers' Diontae Johnson rips refs after loss to Jaguars: 'They cost us the game'
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Russia’s envoy uses the stage at a military forum in China to accuse the US of fueling tensions
Ranking
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Horoscopes Today, October 29, 2023
- Activists urge Paris Olympics organizers to respect the rights of migrants and homeless people
- 'Five Nights at Freddy's' movie pulls off a Halloween surprise: $130.6 million worldwide
- Small twin
- College football Week 9 grades: NC State coach Dave Doeren urges Steve Smith to pucker up
- Hurricane Otis kills 3 foreigners among 45 dead in Acapulco as search for bodies continues
- 'You talkin' to me?' How Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' gets in your head
Recommendation
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral rescheduled for tonight following Sunday scrub
China Evergrande winding-up hearing adjourned to Dec. 4 by Hong Kong court
5 dead as construction workers fall from scaffolding at a building site in Hamburg
Travis Hunter, the 2
Small plane crashes in Utah’s central mountains
Paris Hilton, North West, Ice Spice, more stars transform for Halloween: See the costumes
EU chief says investment plan for Western Balkan candidate members will require reforms