It is a natural reaction to panic when faced with a scary situation when you know that your life might be at risk of danger. But we have always been taught that when worst comes to worst and a gun is pointed at you, that you remain calm no matter what happens. And that is exactly what this Tennessee pastor did when a man started threatening his congregation with a gun during a Sunday service.

Pastor Ndikumana is from Burundi. It was in the middle of a Sunday service when Pastor Ezekiel Ndikumana of the Nashville Light Mission Pentecostal Church tackled a man before he can harm anyone from the congregation.

In an interview with WKRN-TV, Pastor Ndikumana said, “I would say that God used me because I felt like I was going to use the back door as an example as going on by trying to go behind him. And then I felt the feeling that I would go and grab him … and that’s what happened.”

The gunman, 26-year-old Dezire Baganda was later arrested and charged with 15 counts of felony aggravated assault.

And now, surveillance video from the incident is circulating the internet. The clip shows Baganda waving his weapon as he faced the congregation worshipping at the church. The footage shows how Pastor Ndikumana moved quickly to tackle the gunman from behind and knock him down.

It must have been such a scary moment for the churchgoers who were present and out of fear for their safety, many began to run away as the incident began. But others who were brave enough stayed to help disarm the gunman and kept him held down until the police arrived.

Police said that during the incident Baganda told everyone in the church to get up. But thankfully, whatever he was planning to do was stopped by the pastor’s quick action. Pastor Ndikumana said he believed that the gunman had a deadly purpose. He said, “He wanted to kill, that’s what first came to my mind.”

One of the choir members, Nzojibugami Noe, told WKRN that when the incident started the gunman “was standing in the front of almost everybody. No one was behind him yet, so he could have done anything.”

Baganda was not a member of the church. He did attend some church services in the past but he has been disruptive during sermons so he was told to leave. But this time, Baganda had been well behaved at the church service from 10 AM, until the incident that scared the congregation at around 12:45 PM.

Reports from the local news outlet say that an arrest affidavit states that Baganda claimed that he was Jesus and that all churches and schools should be targeted for shootings.

But for Pastor Ndikumana, was thankful that the gunman was stopped right away before he could’ve hurt anyone. He said, “God wanted to show that he’s a powerful God. One main thing I said was, ‘We had faith.’”

You have to remember that when placed in this kind of situation, attacking a gunman is a great risk, not only for yourself but for the people around you. But thankfully, Pastor Ndikumana acted quickly and saved the congregation and nobody got hurt.

WATCH — NORTH NASHVILLE — “man walks up to the altar with a gun at Nashville Light Mission Pentecostal Church, waves it around, points it at congregation… pastor Ezekiel Ndikumana prays, heroically tackles him and he’s disarmed without a shot fired…” https://t.co/4grV1jC0p7 pic.twitter.com/i2TESKE9Cl

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) November 8, 2021