Tennessee Man Arrested After Launching Attack During Church Sermon – Pastor Responds
After a man launched an attack on a Pastor in front of an entire church service that was also being live-streamed, he was reportedly arrested and now faces an assault charge. But according to the head Pastor of the Olivet Baptist Church in Chatanooga, Tennessee, there is more to this story.
The incident took place at a Sunday church service, just a day after Christmas.
Reports say that 34-year-old Marcus Trammell Williams was arrested and is facing an assault charge after the incident that took place during a service at the Olivet Baptist Church in Chatanooga, Tennessee. The report notes that the victim of the attack told police that Williams had previously threatened him at church due to a belief that the man insulted his mother.
But, there is more to the story than one man simply attacking a member of the church.
According to Pastor Kevin Adams of the Olivet Baptist Church, the man who instigated the attack is named Marcus. Marcus had been a life-long member of the church and was well known by the community. Unfortunately, Marcus had been dealing with mental-health and drug abuse issues as he had recently gotten out of rehab.
Pastor Adams was giving the sermon that day and was addressing not only the church, but also many viewers on live-stream. As Pastor Adams delivered his message to the community, Marcus can be seen walking into the frame of the live-stream. That is when a blow is delivered to the head of a man sitting in the front-row.
The man who was attacked was actually the first-assistant to Pastor Adams and a youth pastor for Olivet Baptist Church, Chris Sans. The video shows the defense response from Sans, who later told Adams that he was alright and that he held no ill-will towards Marcus. Sans was on-board to help give Marcus all of the necessary support.
Pastor Adams spoke in his own Facebook live-stream about the response to the incident by the rest of the church as well as what went through his head while the incident was unfolding before him.
Marcus is going back into rehab according to Pastor Adams.
See Pastor Kevin Adams of the Olivet Baptist Church in Chatanooga, Tennessee give his full explanation of the incident via Facebook live below.
See the full video of the scuffle via TMZ below.
While the incident itself has gone viral across social media, I think Pastor Adams has made an excellent point in that the man in question needs support at this time rather than criticism. Marcus showed remorse for his actions immediately following the incident and knew he had made a mistake.
It's possible that Marcus' history of problems with drugs and mental illness could have played a part in this incident. Thankfully, Marcus has an entire Church community surrounding and supporting him during this dark time.
See some reactions to the incident via Twitter below.
Hopefully as many online see the clip of the fight, they take the time to understand that there is a person in need of help at the forefront of it all.