Catherine Rusoff
NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. (KDKA) – A church service in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, was interrupted Sunday when a man pointed a gun at the pastor in the middle of his sermon.
Pennsylvania State Police have charged 26-year-old Bernard Polite of Braddock and say he walked in and tried to shoot Pastor Glenn Germany while the pastor was giving a sermon at Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church on Sunday shortly after 1 p.m.
Video taken by the church’s deacon and posted online by pastor Glenn Germany shows the moment the pastor suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
Offered
“I thought, this isn’t happening,” Pastor Germany said.
Yet somehow it was, but no shots were fired.
“I thank God because only God stopped and locked this gun,” said Germany.
As the pastor ducks away, church deacon Clarence McCallister jumps in front of the camera, knocking the man with the gun to the ground.
McCallister told us that’s exactly how his mind reacted.
“There’s something that needs to be done and I got up and went about 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 he was then taken into custody.
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 someone,” Germany said, adding that Polite said it was voices in his head.
It was apparent to Germany that Polite faces a form of mental illness, he said.
“He said you dodged a bat today, that’s what he told me, and I think that’s slang for you dodged a bullet.
Polite apologized to Germany, he said. Germany has forgiven him but says it has not processed what happened.
“The thing that hurts me the most and brings tears to my eyes because I couldn’t watch my daughter fall apart.”
His 14-year-old daughter sat between 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 hopes to use the story and emphasize to its parishioners that mental illness is real. The man entered and left the room several times, Germany said.
Polite now faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault and attempted murder.
Polite was denied bail and will face a preliminary hearing on the charges next week.
Police investigate shooting that killed suspect
Allegheny County police are investigating after a man was found shot to death inside the home where Bernard Polite lives.
Police say officers from the Mon Valley East Police Department were called about a shooting on 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 was identified as 56-year-old Derek Polite.
A neighbor told KDKA he heard a gunshot earlier in the day but wasn’t sure where it came from.
