A California pastor with a background in martial arts told Fox News Digital that “God was very merciful and protected me” when he fought off a robbery suspect at his church on Thanksgiving Day.
Pastor Nick Neves of First Family Church in Antioch said Friday that the incident began yesterday morning when he arrived at the church to check on the alarm and the propped open door.
“As I tried to enter the building, the suspect came out with a handful of our belongings. I told him to stop. Basically he was under citizen's arrest and he He tried to run away, so I grabbed him and we ended up fighting.''We spent about 15 minutes in the parking lot until police arrived,'' Neves told Fox News Digital.
“He was so aggressive that I tried my best to calm him down without harming him,” he continued. “We are an evangelical church and we want to lead people to the Lord and do good in the community. When someone breaks a window in your house or steals your belongings, it's important to help people. It’s more difficult.”
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Pastor Nick Neves (left) of First Family Church told Fox News Digital on Thursday, Nov. 28, that he and the robbery suspect “ended up scuffling in the parking lot for about 15 minutes” before Antioch police arrived. spoke. (Courtesy of Nick Neves/Antioch Police Department)
Neves also said, “God was very merciful and protected me from a lot of harm there.”
“I hope the man thinks about his crimes and sins and repents,” he added.
Antioch police said the ax the suspect used to break the church window was recovered at the scene.
“I practice jiu-jitsu and I've had a little bit of kickboxing training in the past, so I know how to defend myself,” Neves told FOX News Digital.
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The Antioch Police Department says an ax was used to break into First Family Church Thursday morning. (Antioch Police Department)
“I've been training for years and years, but if you're a peaceful person, you don't really have to use it. I'm not trying to cause trouble with anyone, but if you have to, you can use it.” And thankfully, this guy who was trying to do that was not trained to harm me, so I was able to basically neutralize his attack.'' he added.
“When the robber saw that his wrongdoing was discovered, he decided to fight with the pastor instead of repenting,” Antioch police said in a statement.
The window the suspect used to enter First Family Church in Antioch, Calif., according to Antioch police. (Antioch Police Department)
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“He did not know that in the battle between good and evil, the pastor would win, but the pastor held the attacker down until APD arrived and took the man into custody,” police said. “We are grateful today that the pastor was unharmed in this incident, and we know that together with the wonderful community members we have highlighted recently, we can change the course of crime in our city. I hope.”
