In USA, man sentenced to 60 years for targeting pastor during service

The moment of the attack on the pastor during a church service in Pennsylvania. Photo: a screenshot of apnews video

A citizen of the USA, Bernard Polite, has been sentenced to a prison term of up to 60 years following a harrowing incident in May 2024, when he pulled a gun on a pastor during a church service in Pennsylvania, which caused a wide public outcry, writes premierchristian.news.

During the Sunday sermon at the Dwelling Place Church, Polite entered the hall and pointed a gun at Pastor Glenn Germani. According to authorities, the man, who attempted to shoot the pastor because "spirits got into his head," was stopped when his gun failed to fire.

The attack was recorded on video: the pastor managed to dodge to the side, and a church deacon along with the pastor disarmed the attacker before the police arrived.

It was later revealed that before the attack, Polite had shot his cousin. In court, he pleaded guilty and claimed to have mental disorders.

For the totality of the crimes, he was sentenced to up to 60 years of imprisonment.

As reported, in the USA, a pastor avoided death during a sermon when a bullet got stuck in the gun. Germani stated that his salvation was related to the sermon he was delivering.

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