Parent Pulls Gun on Karate Teacher at Christian School to Prove Martial Arts Are 'Crap'
A parent who pulled a gun on an expert Karate teacher during an open house at a Christian school to prove martial arts are "crap" was arrested and charged for his actions in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
The Karate teacher, Christopher LaSala, who also teaches physical education, told WPTV that he was speaking with parents on Sunday about a martial arts after-school program he planned to run at Grace Christian Academy when the incident occurred.
He said he was explaining to the parents that firearms aren't always the best weapons for self-defense because people can easily be disarmed when George Meyer, 61, interrupted him and called his advice "crap."
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Meyer further told LaSala that he could kill him, according to a police report. Things went downhill after that.
"You're never going to get it (gun) out of your purse or pocket, before it happens it's a false sense of security. It's good to know some basic self-defense," LaSala recalled saying to the parents.
Police say Meyer then got up, pointed a gun at LaSala and said, "Bang, you're dead."
"At that point I figured ... the best thing to do with all the children in the room is to diffuse the situation by not saying anything to anyone," LaSala said, according to CBS12.
He quietly slipped out of the room and had the school call police. Meyer was later arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, carrying concealed firearm, an exhibition of a firearm on school property, and improper exhibition of a firearm.
Meyer made bail Monday and went back to the school, forcing officials to call police again and sparked a lockdown. He was later warned that if he visits the school again he would be arrested.
"I'm not quite sure what his intentions were, but it's a pretty uneasy feeling knowing that he was in the parking lot again after what he did yesterday," LaSala told WPTV.
LaSala is a third-generation martial arts expert who won the World Title International Sport Karate Association's World Championship in Orlando last year.
He told CBS 12 that Meyer had no business taking the gun to the school.
"I can't even fathom what he was thinking," said LaSala. "The man didn't even have a concealed weapons permit. He had no business to even bring a firearm in his possession in the first place, besides having it at a school open house."
A few weeks ago, LaSala shared how the Lord rescued him from a life of trouble and addiction seven years ago and how grateful he is to be living a life that was dedicated to Christ.
"Nothing the enemy could do to me could separate me from the love of Christ and as I remained in his love I have never wavered from my calling. I never missed a homeless feeding I never missed a Bible study I never miss the church service I never missed a day of study or prayer even though everything around me crumble to nothing," he wrote on Facebook.
"I'm not boasting about my own actions I'm boasting about what the Lord did through me and does through me every .... The only and I mean the only reason is through the power of God because I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Yes it's a battle everyday but it's a battle that can be won through the Holy Spirit! Every one of us is only five or six bad choices away from living in the woods and standing on the side of the road with a cardboard sign. I was that person in prison, addicted, homeless, desperate, lonely, tortured, and enslaved by sin but I have been delivered! Jesus set me free!" he said.
