A congregation in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is praising God after members and locals escaped what could have been a deadly assault during a live nativity event.
Tyler Leavitt has been arrested and charged for allegedly pointing a gun at a police officer providing security Saturday night at Central Ministries of Fort Wayne, where the man purportedly wanted to "kill everybody," according to court documents obtained by WPTA-TV.
The 40-year-old suspect is now facing multiple charges stemming from the incident.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the church wrote, "We are praising God for His protection tonight. We are ready to show up in the morning for a time of worship to the God who is our peace, our protector, the only God who can turn a tragedy into a beautiful time for the body of Christ to come together."
And during the 9 a.m. service Sunday, Pastor Jeremy Helmuth described the preceding night as "long" and said he was more "emotional" that normal because of the events of the evening before.
"Heroes ran into danger to prevent evil," said the preacher. "People in our flock, in our church, people that risked their lives for the sake of other people. They ran into danger."
"That's not normal," Helmuth continued. "People usually run from danger -- they usually hide. We had so many people. But why? Is it just because they are doing their duty? Oh, it's much deeper than that."
The pastor noted the alleged assailant came toward the end of the living nativity presentation and church members were beginning to dismantle set pieces.
According to legal filings, Leavitt arrived at the church-hosted event with his wife and pointed a gun at the police officer providing security. He then drove around the property, which was holding about 100 attendees. The officer told law enforcement the man told him he "wanted to kill everyone there."
Security then allegedly prevented the man from driving into the crowd and successfully disarmed him. At that point, Leavitt crashed his pickup truck into a nearby ditch and continued resisting restraint, wielding a knife.
"Officers had to use force to restrain the defendant and take him into custody because the defendant would not obey verbal commands," read an affidavit, describing the ordeal.
Authorities reported one person was shot but did not suffer any life-threatening injuries. Another sustained minor injuries, according to officers on the scene.
As for Leavitt, he is facing myriad charges, including disorderly conduct, recklessness with a deadly weapon, resisting law enforcement, pointing a loaded gun at another person, disarming a police officer, battery with a deadly weapon, and criminal confinement.