A North Carolina pastor says he disarmed a man who came into his church with a rifle during a New Year’s Eve prayer service by talking the man into putting the weapon down and praying for him.
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Wright, who leads the Heal the Land Outreach Ministries in Fayetteville, told CNN the man had a gun in one hand and an ammo magazine with shiny rounds in the other. The man – not yet named by Fayetteville police – had just one request: Please pray for him.
“Wright, a stout 6’2” and a retired soldier, asked the man, “Can I help you?”.
Wright took the man’s gun and patted him down to be certain there were no other weapons hidden on him. Wright said the man told him he was upset about several things, including financial issues. “He needed someone to notice him, to embrace him, to say things like everything is going to be all right”, said Wright.
He says the man then started to cry, and Wright was able to take the gun away.
Pitting prayers against bullets, an armed intrusion at a church on New Year’s Eve ended in peace.
Wright immediately left the podium and confronted the stranger. He told the audience that God had delivered a message to him: He was to go to the church before he did something bad.
“This man came in to do harm and he has given his life to Christ”, Wright said.
“God stepped in and he moved on that young man’s heart, and instead of him shooting and killing a whole lot of people, God touched his heart”, he said.
The man – who asked he not be identified – explained his family was struggling to pay bills. But the Lord spoke to him, he said.
Allison Woods, a church member, described the emotions she felt when the gunman first entered the room: “It didn’t seem real because it was like the scripture that our pastor was reading, it was like it came off the page”.
When police arrived, the man was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and was voluntarily admitted.
“I want to follow up with him and see that he’s getting the help and resources he needs”, he told the Fayetteville Observer.
“I think that night the spirit of God was definitely in the place”, Mr. Loving said.
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According to Wright’s city council website, he served for more than 20 years in the military.
