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    Gunman arrested after trying to shoot Pennsylvania pastor during church sermon in wild caught-on-camera moment

    By Emily Crane,

    12 days ago

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1hqsXa_0spagRDb00

    A gunman has been arrested after pulling a firearm on a Pennsylvania pastor mid-sermon in a terrifying caught-on-camera ordeal – with cops later finding one of his relatives gunned down in his home.

    Bernard Polite, 26, was nabbed after trying to shoot pastor Glenn Germany at the Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock on Sunday afternoon, cops said.

    A horrifying livestream of the ordeal showed Germany ducking for cover as the perp brandished the weapon in front of churchgoers, including the pastor’s own 14-year-old daughter.

    “He pulled the gun; it clicked,” the pastor told WPXI . “You heard him shoot it.”

    “God jammed the gun so the bullet didn’t come out.”

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    Roughly 25 parishioners were listening to Germany’s sermon when the gunman suddenly started walking towards the front pew.

    “He stood up and he smiled at me. And it was just a smile,” Germany said. “He comes to right here and then all of a sudden, that’s when I see him pull the gun and all I could do is duck and try to get out of the way.”

    The church’s deacon, Clarence McCallister, was filmed leaping across and tackling Polite. He and the pastor wrestled the gun from the suspect and pinned him down until cops arrived.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4fRGu5_0spagRDb00
    A churchgoer managed to tackle gunman in the immediate aftermath. KDKA

    “God had his hands on the pastor,” McCallister said. “He wasn’t letting him go nowhere.”

    Germany said the suspect later revealed to him in custody that he’d seen “spirits” in his mind telling him to open fire.

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    “He said, ‘The spirits were in my mind. They got in my mind and told me to shoot the pastor’,” Germany recalled.

    “He actually apologized to me. I told him that ‘I forgive you and want you to know I love you,’ but yes, I definitely forgave him.”

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=491JgS_0spagRDb00
    German miraculously wasn’t shot during the ordeal after the gun jammed. KDKA

    In a separate interview with WTAE , the pastor recalled the gunman telling him, “‘You ducked a taco today.’

    “That’s what he told me, and I guess that’s slang for ‘You ducked a bullet.'”

    Polite is facing a slew of charges, including aggravated assault and attempted homicide.

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    Hours after arresting Polite, police made the grisly discovery of the body of a 56-year-old man shot to death in the home where he lived less than half a mile from the church, Allegheny County police said.

    It wasn’t immediately clear when the victim — identified as Derek Polite — was gunned down.

    The victim is a relative of Polite, a police spokesperson told NBC News , without elaborating on the exact relationship.

    Local reports said the suspect in the church incident lived with his uncle.

    “At this point, no charges have been filed in connection with the homicide and it remains an active investigation,” the police spokesperson, Jim Madalinsky, told NBC News.

    It’s not immediately clear if Polite has legal representation. He’s due back in court for a preliminary hearing on May 13.

    “Nothing bad has ever happened in that home,” neighbor Guy Diperna told WTAE.

    “There were no domestic violence, no fights, no argument that we know of that we could ever have heard.”

    For top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com.

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