PASTOR WHO TRAINED AS MMA FIGHTER HOLDS OFF AXE-WIELDING ATTACKER AT HIS CHURCH. (PHOTOS).

 

Pastor who trained as MMA fighter holds off axe-wielding attacker at his church

An axe-wielding burglar got more than they bargained for when they broke into a church on Thanksgiving – and came face to face with a pastor who was trained in martial arts, police say

Pastor Nick Neves responded to an alarm that had gone off at First Family Church in Antioch, California, in the early hours of Thanksgiving morning, the Antioch Police Department said in a Facebook post.

When the 46-year-old pastor arrived, he discovered the burglar and ordered him to stop.

“I shouted at him to stop, and that the 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 told NBC News.

What the burglar did not know was that Neves has a mixed martial arts background with some training in jiu jitsu and kickboxing – which helped him control the suspect without hurting him, he said

I was able to pin him to the ground and he got up and tried to get away several times, but basically I was just trying to wear him out because I knew I could outlast him,” Neves said.

The two men struggled for about 15 minutes before the suspect gave up and police arrived to take him into custody. The name of the suspect has not been released.

Antioch police said they found an ax believed to belong to the burglar. The ax was used to break a window on the church to gain entry, police wrote in the post.

“When the burglar saw his wicked deeds had been discovered he decided to fight with the pastor instead of repent,” police wrote.

“What he did not know was that 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.”

Neves said that the suspect had likely cost the church a few thousand dollars in damages.

“I don’t have hatred towards him,” he said. “Hopefully, he’ll have to sit and think about this, and it’ll change his heart and mind, and he’ll think twice the next time he’s tempted to go out and rob from others.”

Neves said the break-in seemed to be “opportunistic” and that the suspect had tried to break open a vending machine but was unable to. Instead, he had grabbed “haphazard” items like tools and some food left over from the church’s Saturday free food distributions.

More photos below.