Pastor tackles gunman he says waved a gun at parishioners

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee pastor is crediting his religion successful helping him instrumentality down a gunman helium says waved a weapon astatine parishioners during Sunday service.

Light Mission Pentecostal Church successful Nashville was wrapping up work erstwhile a man got up and started waving a weapon around.

"I came to a infinitesimal wherever I was confused oregon didn't recognize what conscionable happened," said Pastor Ezekiel Ndikumana. "I said to myself, 'We are already dead.'"

Ndikumana says helium couldn't judge what was happening.

Video from wrong the religion showed the moments successful real-time.

Video: Suspect pulls weapon during North Nashville religion service, disarmed by pastor

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department says 26-year-old Dezire Baganda pulled a weapon retired and walked up to the altar wherever the pastor was praying with respective members.

"He [Baganda] told the radical to determination oregon to get up portion helium was pointing the weapon to everyone astir here," Ndikumana said.

Ndikumana says helium knew helium needed to enactment successful bid to prevention lives by jumping connected the gunman until constabulary arrived.

"In this situation, by grabbing him, it was either dice oregon drawback him to wherever helium doesn't wounded anybody," helium said.

Church leaders accidental the gunman stayed for the full service. It was toward the extremity erstwhile they accidental helium got up and waved his gun.

The pastor says helium acknowledgment God nary 1 was hurt.

"I'm grateful, precise grateful to God however helium utilized america to wherever nary 1 got hurt, and helium was capable to support america done that way," Ndikumana said.

Church leaders said this isn't the archetypal clip the 26-year-old fishy visited the church. They accidental the past clip was successful February, erstwhile helium tried to preach.

Baganda is facing 57 counts of felony aggravated battle with a deadly weapon.

He is being held astatine the Davidson County Detention Center connected a $375,000 bond. He is owed successful tribunal to reply to the charges connected Wednesday, Nov. 10.

This communicative was primitively published by Kelsey Gibbs astatine WTVF.