Moales identified himself as a pastor and told the teen that he wasn’t going to press charges. The robber was unaffected by the words and continued trying to get away.
“I told you I’m a pastor. I’m letting you leave. What are you doing?” Moales asked the teen, now seated behind the wheel of the car. The pastor was forced to step back, however, when the teen pointed the gun at him. The carjacker then drove away.
The pastor is grateful to be alive and to have escaped with minor injuries.
“My prayer today is, ‘God, thank you for covering me. Thank you for my life,'” said Moales.
Law enforcement officers were at the scene in minutes and worked quickly to search for the vehicle and its carjacker.
Just two hours later, Baltimore police arrested three people who were found inside the stolen vehicle. Two underage teenagers and one 19-year-old were taken into custody.
The 19-year-old, Mehkai Tindal, was “awaiting trial on assault charges” when the carjacking happened. His backpack held multiple sets of car keys to various vehicles. Tindal is being held without bail.
Police officers transported Moales to a nearby hospital and put him up at a hotel for the night.
“To this day, I have respect for police and what they do,” Moales said. “All my coaches were police officers.”