A pastor’s quick thinking saved lives on Sunday when a self-described “man of Islam” entered a Texas church and declared he was ready to “slay infidels.”

John Johnson III of the Corinth Missionary Baptist church in Bullard, Texas, came face-to-face with Rasheed Abdul Aziz, 40, after morning services Sept. 13.

Aziz was wielding a handgun and wearing camouflage pants, a tactical vest, combat boots and a helmet when he allegedly said “People are going to die today,” KLTV-7 reported Monday.

“Immediately my mind went to the fact that I knew we had several children and young members that were playing and running in the fellowship hall, I mouthed to them, ‘This man has a weapon, I need you guys to go,’” Johnson, 45, told the station.

Johnson, a former parole officer who works with troubled teens and is trained to diffuse verbal altercations, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph on Tuesday his instincts took over in his church’s conference room. The whole exchange took roughly five minutes. Read More