Caught on surveillance video, a heroic Tennessee Pastor took down a man waving a gun during a Sunday church service, saving his congregation.
The suspect, who has now been identified as Dezire Baganda, 26, casually walked up to the front podium waving a firearm before pointing it towards church members and demanding that they rise to their feet.
Quick on his toes, Pastor Ezekiel Ndikumana of Nashville Light Mission Pentecostal Church rushed forward and tackled Baganda to the floor before the suspect could fire his weapon.
While the pastor had Baganda pinned to the ground, several other church members assisted in disarming the suspect and holding him down until police arrived at the scene.
The pastor told Metro Nashville Police that Baganda was not a church member, but had infrequently attended church services in the past. Pastor Ndikumana recalled that Baganda went up to the front altar after the pastor had opened up the floor to anyone who needed special prayers.
In response to his heroic act, Pastor Ndikumana stated in an interview with Fox 17 News, “I would say that the voice of God came inside of me and I snuck behind the other way.”
Still wary from the events that took place on Sunday, the Nashville pastor went on to express his worry by stating, “We still have thoughts because we don’t know the coming future, we don’t know if he came by himself or if he has another group on the outside, so really we are still processing to try to make sure and think we don’t have any more danger.”
Baganda is now facing 57 counts of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Baganda is currently being held on a $375,000 bond at the Davidson County Detention Center. He is due to appear in court on Wednesday, November 10.
