A group of quick-thinking church members managed to avert a potential disaster Sunday when they tackled a gun-wielding woman who was holding a young child.
What happened?
Service was wrapping up at the nondenominational Tsidkenu Church in the Clairemont community of San Diego when a woman entered the sanctuary with a gun and “started talking delusional stuff,” recalled congregant Ron Farmer, according to KSWB-TV
The woman, who was clearly unstable, continued to wave the firearm around, before suddenly pointing it at the baby in her arm. At this point, brave members of the church reacted.
“After she started pointing the gun at the baby, one of the older gentlemen grabbed it from her, and then me and a couple of other men tackled her,” said David Michael Miller, according to KSWB. “We got the baby away from her. A few minutes after that, the cops came in. She was trying to run away or something so a cop tackled her through a row of chairs. They arrested her and pulled another gun out of her bra.”
The woman was later identified as 31-year-old Anna Conkey.
San Diego police released a statement on the incident, noting that “church members approached the female and disarmed her” prior the arrival of law enforcement on the scene.
Police noted that the 10-month-old baby was also found to be unharmed, along with the woman’s 5-year-old daughter.
“Both children have been taken into protective custody,” the department added.
“We knew who she was,” said Ben Wisan, one of the church leaders, of the woman in question. “She had been coming on and off for a little bit of time. And we had been praying for her because we wanted to see her set free.”
Praise God for these brave church members who saw the threat and acted accordingly!