SUFFOLK, Va. — As Chief Apostle Brian Outlaw addressed his congregation at Suffolk's Divine Church of Deliverance and Transformation Holiness Sunday, a congregant, armed with a gun, entered through a back door and approached the podium with the gun drawn.
Outlaw tackled the alleged shooter, identified by Suffolk police Monday as Tremonte Smith, 24, of Chesapeake.
Smith is facing charges of attempted second-degree murder, using a firearm in a felony, and shooting into a building. He was arraigned in court on Monday morning, records show.
"He was always respectful to me, always talked to me, that's what was surprising to everybody was we never had this problem with him," Outlaw told News 3 Sunday.
Watch: Pastor says he tackled man with gun in church
Smith fired one shot in the direction of the pulpit, though it did not strike anyone, and he was quickly restrained and disarmed while the congregants waited for police to arrive on the scene.
"I went into active mode and grabbed the gun and wrestled the gun from him to make sure it wouldn't go off in the congregation but it went off in the pulpit," Outlaw told News 3 Sunday.
Outlaw said Smith was a member of the church for the last 12 years.
It was a scary moment for churchgoers, who'd been listening to some of the New Testament.
Watch: 'Keep him in prayer', church leader says following shooting
"When we pulled [the service] up on the Facebook [livestream] from home, my wife — she heard the shots — she said something happened at the church, so I jumped up and came running out here," said Raymond Giles, who had children and grandchildren inside the church.
Churchgoers gave thanks to God that no one was hurt.
"Only thing I can say is we put the young man in prayer. Let's keep the young man in prayer and let God intervene to give him strength. Whatever he's going through, whatever he's facing, asking God to give him strength and strength in his family," said Outlaw.
They finished the service and shared in a prayer.
"The church was lucky that everyone gang tackled him to the ground until police showed up because otherwise, it could have been a lot worse," Ron Gorsline, with Eagle Security Solutions, said.
Gorsline said unfortunately, this is an example of how gun violence can happen anywhere.
He said it is important for any large group to make a threat assessment of your building in case anything ever happens, plan out what can be done, and communicate with other churches nearby on what your plan is.
"The house of worship is a place that is supposed to be welcoming the public. When you welcome the public, you take on some risks with that," Gorsline said.
Smith was appointed a public defender and is due back in court in February.
