Recently, a California pastor trained in mixed martial arts managed to subdue an axe-wielding vandal at his church on the morning of Thanksgiving with his refined fighting skills. Pastor Nick Neves of First Family Church in Antioch had the most unusual holiday experience when he responded to an alarm that had gone off in the early morning hours.
According to reports, the vandal had used an axe to break the windows of the church, apparently to obtain access to the building. Upon arriving on the scene, Neves confronted the violent man. “I shouted at him to stop, and that police were on their way, and he ran and I grabbed a hold of him and we ended up wrestling in the parking lot of the church,” Neves said.
The pastor explained that he studies various fighting disciplines in his free time. “I like to stay fit, and I studied in some jujitsu and kickboxing and I have a mixed martial arts background, so it was very helpful to be able to grapple with this gentlemen without having to do much harm to him,” he said.”I was able to pin him to the ground and he got up to try to get away several times, but [I was] basically just trying to wear him out because I knew I could outlast him,” Neves added.
However, Neves pointed out that if the man had come to the church just days before, he would’ve been given food and care. “It’s just ironic. If he had come a couple of days earlier, he would have been blessed and get some food and be cared for,” Neves said. “But he decided instead to smash windows and desecrate property and do something that’s going to hurt the ministries.”
The Antioch Police Department posted about the incident on Facebook, writing, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ARE AS BOLD AS A LION.” The police department continued, “When the pastor at First Family Church on Contra Loma responded to check an alarm in the early hours of Thanksgiving he was not expecting to confront a burglar, but that’s what happened. When the burglar saw his wicked deeds had been discovered he decided to fight with the pastor instead of repent.”
The post further stated, “What he did not know was the pastor would win this battle of good and evil and he held down the perp until APD arrived and placed the man in custody. We are thankful today that the pastor was uninjured during this incident and hopeful that with amazing community members like we have been highlighting lately, we can turn the tide on crime in our city. (The axe in the photo was used to break a window on the church which is how the burglar entered.)”
Featured image credit: Antioch Police Department / Facebook