The Pennsylvania man who attempted to shoot a pastor during a livestreamed worship service last year has been sentenced to up to 60 years in prison. Bernard Polite, 27, had pleaded guilty but mentally ill to criminal attempt homicide for pulling a gun on Pastor Glenn Germany of Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock. Polite made the same plea to the charge of third-degree murder for shooting and killing his cousin, with whom he had lived.
Polite was sentenced to five to 20 years for attempting to shoot the pastor, plus 15 to 40 years for murdering his cousin. So his total aggregate sentence is between 20 and 60 years behind bars.
While preaching on Sunday May 5, 2024, Pastor Germany had noticed a man walking in and out of the church. Polite settled near the front and suddenly, “I just saw a gun pointing right at me,” the pastor recalled. “All I could try to do is run for cover” behind the pulpit.
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Clarence McCallister, a deacon and cameraman at the church, rushed to tackle and disarm the gunman. Germany and other congregants also assisted until police arrived. Authorities believe that Polite had killed his 56-year-old cousin, Derek Polite, that same morning.
Suspect in Attempted Shooting of Pastor Glenn Germany Said He Heard Spirits
Witnesses at the church said the gunman pulled the trigger but his weapon misfired. According to police records, Bernard Polite was in poor mental health. He reportedly told authorities that God told him to shoot the pastor and that “spirits” were talking to him.
“He was in the church for a while,” deacon Clarence McCallister said of the gunman. “He could have killed anybody, but the voice that he heard told him to kill the pastor.” Recounting the frightening incident, McCallister said he knew he “had to do something” because “my pastor’s life was in danger.”
When the deacon heard the suspect’s weapon click, he said, he thanked God that the gun had jammed. “That’s when I leaped up out of that chair and went after the guy,” McCallister added. “I put his arms to his sides so he couldn’t move, turned him around, and sat him down.”
Pastor Germany called McCallister a hero, saying the deacon “could have lost his life in that struggle, but he sacrificed himself for everyone.” McCallister, in turn, credited God and expressed gratitude that no one was injured. The deacon was just doing his job, he said, adding that the pastor would have done the same thing for him.
