East Texas Pastor uses handgun to foil burglary in church.

[sugar land dave]

The first thing the Pastor says is that he and his wife both have CHL licenses.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp ... 2#41492012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Kythas]

The first thing the Pastor says is that he and his wife both have CHL licenses.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp ... 2#41492012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My first thought was: who would burgle a church? But then I remembered that I'm not surprised by what people do anymore.

Kudos to the Pastor.

I love how the young thugs told him they'd be back and he'll pay for catching them. Of course, the fact they got arrested is not due to them breaking in, but to him catching them breaking in.

[chasfm11]

Our church was burglarized in mid-day with people in the building. It happens.

It would have been interesting to see the actual arrival of the LEOs with the Pastor holding the two a gunpoint. I wondered how they handled that?

The death threat and the vow to return for retaliation are also interesting. Kudos to the Pastor for handling the situation.

[The Annoyed Man]

Maybe this was our own longtooth?

Edited to add: meaning he was the pastor, not the burglar!

[Keith B]

Churchs are not any more immune to violence and crime. Many people have no respect that a building is a church any more than they would a pool hall.

This happened last Sunday morning at my Sister-in-law's family church http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=13986680" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; & http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=13983414" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The teens were 'bored', had learned how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube and decided to try it. The church is near the edge of town and in a semi-secluded area and they hung out in the parking lot. The Molotov cocktails failed to ignite the building, so one of them poured gasoline into the broken window and lit the fire. Luckily, people passing by on the highway saw flames coming out of the windows at 3:30 AM Sunday morning and called the fire department. The early call and quick response of the fire department kept the fire isolated to the youth rec area of the church. Good detective work by the Police Department quickly identified the 4 subjects and they were all arrested that same day.

[speedsix]

...he didn't mention a death threat...but "kids" nowadays are capable of anything...glad it all worked out well...

...an arsonist is just a murderer looking for a place to happen...glad they got 'em...

[Scott in Houston]

This makes me wonder what my pastor would do, if he finds the tape on my fingers when we pass the plates?

[speedsix]

[MoJo]

This happened in Beaumont, not far from where I grew up as a kid. The old hometown has changed over the last 50 years from a place where you could leave your doors and windows open when no one was home to a crime filled community where even the Lord's house isn't sacred any longer. Kudos to Pastor McAbee for both having a CHL and being willing to protect the church property.

[sjfcontrol]

DId you catch some of the reporter's terminology?
The pastor "brandished" his firearm, and "decided to take matters into his own hands".

[RPB]

Churches often have P.A. Systems, mixers, microphones, stands, amplifiers, etc etc and equipment that bands want or burglars want to pawn.
They also have air conditioners thieves want.
Many are not occupied much of the time.
Nope, they aren't immune, but targets as the crime may not be discovered for days sometimes.

[speedsix]

...people who rattle when they walk make media members nervous, haven't you noticed?!!!

[sugar land dave]

I too noticed the little "buzz-words" the media people used to denote their anti-gun opinion.

[sugar land dave]

Any more comments?

[Texas Size 11]

You have to be a real piece of work to rob a church...unbelievable.