13-year-old arrested after St. Louis pastor carjacked at gunpoint

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - One of the latest victims of carjacking in St. Louis is a church pastor.

The pastor said he is thankful to be alive after two boys, who appeared to be middle schoolers, put a gun to his face and took his van.

Surveillance video obtained by News 4 shows the incident in the parking lot of Carondelet Baptist Church in South St. Louis on Jan. 27.

Police said the two boys didn’t get far. They hit other cars as they drove away and abandoned the van they stole just a few blocks from the church.

The pastor said he had to explain to the teens how to start the vehicle because they seemed so inexperienced.

“Because of their inexperience because--I didn’t want them to say, hey, this isn’t working out, shoot the guy and go,” said Mike Coleman, the pastor of Carondelet Baptist Church. “Seriously, I was trying to think a step ahead of them, but honestly, I just really did not know what to do -- did not have time, and that transpires in about a minute two minutes almost, maybe three, every second felt like an eternity.”

The pastor said he pressed charges against the boys because he wants to hold them accountable, and he wants to prevent this from happening to anyone else.

Three days after the crime, police announced a 13-year-old boy had been taken into custody. The boy was turned in by his mother and was remanded to the Juvenile Courts.

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