Texas Pastor, Congregation Escape From Demon-Troubled Man Who Said God Sent Him to Kill Infidel Christians
The pastor of a small church in Texas is now thanking God after he escaped with his congregation from an armed "man of Islam" who entered his church declaring demons were chasing him and God had authorized him to take lives.
The Rev. John D. Johnson III, 45, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph that the moment the "man of Islam," Rasheed Abdul Aziz, of Jacksonville, walked into his church, the Corinth Missionary Baptist Church near Lake Palestine on Sunday afternoon, he knew something was amiss.
"Every hair on my neck just stood up," said Johnson. "It was almost like you could just like feel the presence of just negative energy."
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Johnson said the heavily tattooed Aziz, 40, who was dressed in camouflage fatigue pants, camo boots, a black T-shirt and a tactical vest with a canteen hanging from it was sweating profusely.
Aziz initially told a deacon outside the church that he wanted the pastor to pray for him. As Johnson extended his hand to Aziz as he was being introduced, he broke out in a rant revealing his struggle with demons and his alleged directive from God to take the lives of Christians and Jews, whom he referred to as infidels.
Instead of reacting to Aziz with force, Johnson, who is a former parole officer with training in crisis prevention and mental health, invoked his expertise.
"Immediately, just like clockwork, it kicked in," he said.
Johnson explained how he worked to calm Aziz by offering him a cool drink and prayer while blocking him off from the rest of the church.
"I never gave him the power of feeling that he was in control, that I was frightened," said Johnson. "I just continued to engage, but I was very cautious not to raise my voice or make any quick moves."
While trying to calm Aziz, he noticed a gun as the man became more upset. Johnson knew he had to get his congregation to safety at this point so he told Aziz that he needed to get his children settled and used the opportunity to tell his wife and another church member that: "We got a problem. Get everybody out of the church."
As everyone evacuated the building Johnson chose to follow his members out the door leaving Aziz inside while someone called police.
"We can get another church," he said he told his wife. "We can get more walls, but we cannot get new people."
According to Johnson, Aziz saw the church members leaving, flashed a "peace sign," jumped in his car and fled the scene.
Aziz was later found by police in Smith County, just north of Cherokee County, where the church is located. Criminal records show that Aziz is a felon, previously convicted for marijuana possession and aggravated robbery. He was subsequently arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Additional charges are pending.
A twist in the story, however, reveals that Aziz had returned to the church after fleeing and left a note thanking the church and the pastor for their kindness.
"My name is Rasheed [phone number] you helped me at a time of need. This house is blessed by God and all faiths: Muslim, Jew and the Christian shall all gather here in peace and justice for God as a whole for the betterment of mankind. I thank you. My title is special ranger harbinger Aziz. I be around to kneel and pray with you," said Aziz in the letter found on Monday, according to KLTV.
Johnson insists that the grace of God is what kept him and his congregation alive that day.
"I just think it's by the grace and mercy of God that we are not on the other side of history," he said, "the other side of tragedy."
