A man who was caught on a livestream video attempting to shoot a pastor in the middle of a Sunday church service confessed to authorities that “spirits” told him to commit the crime.
Bernard Junior Polite was charged with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person after trying to shoot Reverend Glenn Germany, who leads the Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, court records show.
Germany spoke to multiple news outlets about the terrifying incident. He said he saw Polite enter the sanctuary during the praise and worship portion of an afternoon service on Sunday, May 6.
“He came in and out of the church a couple of times, during praise and worship, and then all of sudden he sat in the back and came to the front, and he smiled at me,” Germany told USA Today.
The live stream showed Polite walking up to the pulpit where Germany was preaching, pointing a gun at his head, and attempting to pull the trigger while Germany ducks out of the line of fire.
A 63-year-old church deacon, Clarence McCallister, then leaped into action and wrapped his arms around Polite to take him to the ground.
“I just jumped up and … pulled his arm down to his side and locked him up,” McCallister told Good Morning America.
Germany also helped restrain Polite before disarming him.
“Get him! Get Him!” someone in the congregation egged on. “Call the police! Call the police!”
The pastor said, miraculously, no shots were fired because the gun jammed the moment Polite tried to shoot.
“It clicked. You heard him shoot it. So, God jammed the gun so that the bullet didn’t come out,” Germany told local station WXPI of Pittsburgh.
Germany, who has worked at his church for 14 years, said he was preaching about miracles and healing during that Sunday service.
After Polite was taken into custody, he talked to police about the moments leading up to the attempted shooting. He said he was at home and heard music coming from the church building, so he decided to go to the service.
The 26-year-old confessed that he attempted to shoot the pastor because “God told him to do it,” and he wanted to “go to jail and clear his mind,” according to a criminal complaint.
The gunman also apologized to the pastor.
“He said, ‘Look, spirits was in my mind. They got in my mind, and they told me come in and shoot the pastor.’ He actually apologized to me. I told him that I forgive you and want you to know that I love you,” Germany recalled to NBC News.
Hours after the incident, police found a dead body with a gunshot wound at Polite’s home. A medical examiner identified the victim as 56-year-old Derek Polite, who Germany said was Bernard’s cousin.
Derek’s body was discovered after a relative saw a video of the church incident on Facebook and was prompted to check on the family after recognizing Bernard. They confirmed that Bernard moved in with his cousin several years ago and had a history of mental illness, but there were no notable episodes recently.
Neighbors said the Polites were kind neighbors and were shocked by the death.
“Nothing bad has ever happened in that home. There were no domestic violence, no fights, no argument that we know of that we could ever have heard,” one neighbor told WTAE.
Police have not yet filed any charges in Derek Polite’s death or released any information on what led up to the deadly shooting. He’s back in court for a preliminary hearing on May 13.
