MMA-trained pastor fights off axe-wielding vandal on Thanksgiving

ANTIOCH, Calif. (WKRC) – A axe-wielding man’s vandalism of a church on the morning of Thanksgiving was stopped by a pastor trained in martial arts.

Pastor Nick Neves from the First Family Church in Antioch responded to an alarm at the church in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving day, and came face-to-face with a man holding an axe, the Antioch Police Department reported.

Police said the man was using the axe to break the windows of the church, seemingly attempting to get in.

“I shouted at him to stop, and that 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.

Although an armed man and a pastor sounds like a recipe for disaster, the suspect didn’t account for Neves’ physical prowess.

“I like to stay fit, and I studied in some jujitsu and kickboxing and I have a mixed martial arts background, so it was very helpful to be able to grapple with this gentlemen without having to do much harm to him,” he said.

Neves told police the man continued to struggle for another 15 minutes before giving up and waiting for officers to arrive.

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

“But the righteous are as bold as a lion,” the Antioch Police Department said in a Facebook post, referencing scripture.

The department reported that Neves was uninjured by the incident and that the suspect was arrested.

“It’s just ironic. If he had come a couple of days earlier, he would have been blessed and get some food and be cared for,” Neves said, alluding to a community project the church had just completed. “But he decided instead to smash windows and desecrate property and do something that’s going to hurt the ministries.”