Thieves Rob Church During Praise & Worship

NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) - How low can one go? Someone apparently during the middle of morning worship service had their mind on something other than ‘praise and worship,' according to a Nacogdoches Police report.

While church members worshipped close by, thieves were brazenly helping themselves to the Sunday morning offerings at Christian Life Center Church.

The theft occurred shortly after the offering plate had been passed around and the money secured in a strong box in the business office. It has been determined that the amount of money taken was less than $500, but that's not the disturbing part said Sergeant Greg Sowell with the Nacogdoches Police Department. He said the fact that someone had the nerve to take the church's money bag at all is unsettling.

"It looks like someone took the bank bag between 11:40 and 12 noon. That's pretty low and pretty bold to take money from the church," Sergeant Greg Sowell with the Nacogdoches Police Department said. "We've assigned an investigator to the case." At this time, there are no suspects.

Police are encouraging anyone with information that might help solve this case to call Crime Stoppers at 936-560-INFO.

Church Employee Stabbed

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - A church employee was stabbed Saturday evening around 7:45 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church in the 2100 block of Collingwood Blvd.

Custodian Anthony Leno was stabbed twice while he took a quick break outside.

"We believe two occupants asked Tony for directions," said Jack Lindberg, a member of the congregation. "Tony, being the guy he is, walked to the car to give them directions. At that point he was stabbed."

Church security guard Anthony Bell knows Leno well. He says it was upsetting to find out what happened to a friend and says the crime is a reflection of the community today.

"It's a bad neighborhood," Bell said. "To have a security guard at the church lets you know it is a sign of the times."

While it may be a sign of the times, by chance Sunday's sermon was entitled: "Facing our Fears," a lesson planned months earlier, but fitting during this difficult time.

"We should be wary, but at the same time we want to be a place where we can project enough love that we can drive some of that hatred and hurt and pain away that makes people act like that," Rev. Robert Anderson said.

Before service members held hands and prayed for their fellow family member, a member they say means so much to the church.

"Without him this doesn't happen. It took four people to get the church ready this morning in what he does by himself. I guess that tells you it all," Lindberg said.

Leno is expected to be okay.

His attacker is described as a Middle Eastern man in his 30s, around 5' 8" and around 160 lbs with black hair and brown eyes.

Witnesses say he drove off in a green Chevy Blazer.

Call CrimeStopper at 419-255-1111 if you have information that can help police.

Copyright 2010 WTOL. All rights reserved.

One Injured in Church Shooting

Springfield, SC (WLTX) -- Orangeburg County Officials are searching for the person they say shot
a gun outside of a church Sunday afternoon injuring another person.

At approximately 1 PM, Officials say they responded to a shots fired call after someone starting shooting
a gun outside of Oakey Spring Baptist Church. Officials say there was a physical outside the
church between two men resulting in shots being fired. Investigators are still working to confirm the identity
of the gunman.

One person was injured during the altercation with non-life threatening injuries. Witnesses told News19 the church had planned
to hold a meeting at 1 PM to vote on the church's current pastor.

Officials are still investigating.

Church volunteer faces allegation of child molestation

The Edmonds man was a volunteer at a church where he allegedly fondled an 8-year-old girl during a class.

By Diana Hefley
Herald Writer

EDMONDS — A volunteer magician and puppeteer who worked with a children’s ministry at Westgate Chapel in Edmonds is accused of fondling a young parishioner during Sunday school and sneaking his camera up the skirts of unsuspecting girls and women.

Prosecutors on Tuesday charged Terry Jensen, 55, of Edmonds, with first-degree child molestation and two counts of attempted voyeurism.

The incidents date back to 2006, when an 8-year-old girl reported that Jensen fondled her three times during a class, according to court papers. The girl told her mother, who reported the incident to church officials.

Jensen allegedly apologized to the girl during a meeting facilitated at the time by the church and attended by the girl, her mother and the church’s leadership team, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Adam Cornell wrote.

The girl reported that Jensen “got down on one knee” and asked the girl for another chance, court papers said.

Church officials on Tuesday said that Jensen didn’t confess to any criminal activity during the meeting. Church leaders know that they must report any allegations of abuse against children and would have called police if they believed a crime occurred, Cindi Bowen, an assistant pastor at the church, said.

A church elder and others had no information at the time that Jensen had fondled the girl, Bowen said. Instead, there was a plausible explanation for why the girl may have misunderstood the situation. He apologized, suggesting there had been miscommunication that made the girl feel uncomfortable. The family seemed satisfied with the explanation and remained active with the church, Bowen said.

Church officials did go to police in January, when Jensen was confronted again with allegations of sexual impropriety with parishioners.

Prosecutors allege that Jensen used a small camera to take pictures up the skirts of women and girls at church and on business trips.

Jensen told Westgate Chapel officials he used the church’s camera to take pictures underneath the skirts of some of the teenage puppet workers behind the stage, Cornell wrote.

Two women also reported that Jensen used a small camera that looked like a pen to take pictures of them during business trips.

Edmonds police seized two of Jensen’s computers. They weren’t able to find any images that pertained to the allegations against him. Jensen, Cornell wrote, destroyed a third computer and threw it in the garbage. Investigators were unable to locate the computer, Cornell wrote.

Jensen was removed as a volunteer when the allegations surfaced this year, Bowen said. He had been a volunteer since 2003 and underwent a criminal background screening.

Guns In Church

The Internet is abuzz today over word that Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has singed that allows people with concealed-weapons permits to bring weapons into churches and other houses of worship.

The bill does not allow people to simply walk into a church packing heat, however. According to the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, individuals must pass a background check and undergo eight hours of training per year if they want to bring weapons to houses of worship; the idea seems to be that they would serve something like a de facto security force.

In addition, the head of the religious institution - be it a church, synagogue, mosque or anything else - must announce to congregants that the weapons are being wielded for security purposes.

The bill, which will reportedly go into effect on August 15th, is the brainchild of Republican state Rep. Henry Burns, who argues that houses of worship in rough neighborhoods need the protection that a concealed-weapons security force could provide.

The legislation also extends the period to have a concealed weapons permit from four to five years and gives houses of worship the option to hire off duty police or other security forces. It was one of hundreds of measures signed into law by the Republican governor.

Woman Brings Gun To Church

Woman wears gun in holster to church

She drives away and is stopped and ticketed by police

By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel

A Unitarian Universalist church might well be the last place you'd expect to find someone wearing a gun.

Maybe that's why Krysta Sutterfield chose the Unitarian church in Brookfield for an open-carry demonstration on Sunday. If she wanted to bring attention to the gun rights debate, she surely succeeded, though she probably didn't plan on getting arrested in the process.

Brookfield police said Thursday they were called to the church at 13001 W. North Ave. about 10:30 a.m. by a church staffer who said a woman was wearing a handgun in a hip holster. By the time three squad cars arrived, Sutterfield was driving away. She was stopped, and police found the loaded 9mm gun in a zipped case on the passenger seat.

She was handcuffed, taken to the police station, processed and ticketed for having the loaded gun in her car - a state forfeiture citation, not a criminal offense. Sutterfield was then released.

She was not ticketed for openly carrying the weapon into the church, which did not have signs prohibiting firearms.

"We've referred the case to the district attorney," Police Capt. Phil Horter said.

Sutterfield, 41, of Milwaukee, referred questions Thursday to her attorney, Rebecca Coffee, who said she couldn't comment on her client's intentions or actions Sunday.

Caryl Sewel, president of the congregation at Unitarian Universalist Church West, said Sutterfield may have attended a service before but was not a registered member of the church. Because of the Fourth of July holiday, Sunday's service was lightly attended, Sewel said, and a guest minister was speaking about civil rights.

Sewel said that Sutterfield's gun was clearly visible on her hip, but that she didn't ever remove it from its holster or do anything overtly threatening. Still, it concerned Sewell.

"I didn't feel comfortable asking her why she was wearing the gun," Sewel said. "Truthfully, we found it very intimidating," especially in light of the 2005 shootings at a church service at a Brookfield hotel that left eight people dead, and a 2008 shooting at a Unitarian church in Tennessee that killed two people.

But Sewel said other members did ask Sutterfield, and she replied she was expressing her 2nd Amendment rights.

Sewel said other staff called the administrative line of the Brookfield Police Department for clarification about the legality, and the officers responded in force with at least three squad cars. She said she didn't think that was an overreaction, again because of the memories of the 2005 shootings.

The church will probably now post a sign banning guns, Sewel said, but it has no grudge against Sutterfield.

"We'd be happy to have her come back," Sewel said. "Just don't bring a gun."

Gun rights advocates are riding some momentum lately. Last year, state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen advised law enforcement that open-carry was not, in itself, a basis for a charge of disorderly conduct. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the 2nd Amendment right of most individuals to possess firearms applies to the states, and within a day, one Wisconsin district attorney said he would no longer prosecute cases of concealed carry or transporting uncased or loaded guns in vehicles. A challenge to Wisconsin law banning guns within 1,000 feet of a school is pending in federal court.

Nik Clark, president of Wisconsin Carry Inc., called the state "behind the times" for prohibiting transport of loaded guns, which most states allow.

"Wisconsin Carry advocates that people follow all Wisconsin firearm regulations, even those we find patently unconstitutional, until such time as we are able to change those laws through legal challenges and/or legislative changes," Clark said.

Jeri Bonavia, executive director of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, disagrees with the basic open-carry tenet that armed law-abiding people deter criminals.

"When people make a decision to carry a gun or that a gun will keep them safer, they have the opportunity to analyze risks and benefits. They get to decide," she Bonavia said. "But when they bring it into public, they're forcing their analysis on all of us."

Broad research shows, she said, that "guns, overall, do not promote public or personal safety."

Man Sentenced for Killing Toddler with Baseball Bat in Church

Wheaton man sentenced for killing toddler with baseball bat in church

A man who accidentally killed a toddler with a baseball bat while attacking her stepfather in a western Minnesota church has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

David E. Collins, 51, of Wheaton, was sentenced Thursday by Traverse County District Judge Gerald Seibel in the death of Aundrea Brownlow, 14 months, as he went after Claude Hankins, in September inside Thy Kingdom Come church.

Collins and Hankins were in a dispute over $20 and a used washer and dryer.

The Rev. Danny Barnes of the Thy Kingdom Come said Saturday he gave the appliances to Hankins, and that angered Collins.

Collins was convicted in a bench trial before Seibel of unintentional second-degree murder and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

With time served and credit for good behavior in prison, Collins could end up serving as little as 12 1/2 years.

Soon after the killing, Collins' wife said her husband didn't see Aundrea before crushing her skull.

The church's mission includes serving people with drug and alcohol addictions.

Condoms found at historic church

Originally printed at http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/georgia/97275099.html

BEECH ISLAND, S.C. - Thousands of dollars worth of damages have been done to a historic church in Aiken County.

Church members spent Saturday morning restoring their church before Sunday’s service.

Three men, who sat in the Susan Union Baptist church in Beech Island as little boy’s 60-years -ago, came in to clean up the mess.

Reverend Abraham Smith Jr. is one of them.

"When we came to church there wasn't too much fooling around when I was growing up,” Smith said.

The 117-year-old church is five miles from the road, nestled in the woods and has service every fourth Sunday of the month.

Smith says this month someone or someones came early.

"Glass was all in the pulpit,” Smith said pointing toward the broken windows. Several chairs were smashed and King James Bible was thrown on the floor.

He tallied up $2,000 in damages.

"The grounds are said to be holy grounds, but they don't even have respect for the grounds,” Smith said.

Aiken County Sheriff’s Investigators say they think teenagers are to blame.

Deacon Fred Key says he caught them once.

"Teenagers come back and park and do what they got to do, drink beer, smoke reefer and they probably got feeling good and wanted to break some windows,” Key said.

Smith pointed out the beer cans and condom wrappers that littered the area around the church.

“No respect, no respect I can’t believe they left them right there,” he said.

Smith says he expects 15 people to show up to the service.

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office is investigating the vandalism at this church as well as several other Aiken County Church vandalism's.

Two Men Steal Items From Bishop Long's Office

2 steal iPad, other items from Bishop Eddie Long's office

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

3:38 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, 2010

At first, the master key to the New Birth Baptist Church was missing.

Then, an iPhone, iPad and other random items – more than $1,300 worth – were taken from Bishop Eddie Long’s office.

The incident happened on June 13, according to a DeKalb police report obtained by the AJC. A security camera at the church on Woodrow Road in Lithonia caught most of it on videotape.

Police arrested the thieves Wednesday. Investigators say they don't know what the connection is between the suspects and the church -- but they do believe that the theft was an inside job.

The camera recorded two men wearing dark hooded shirts, dark pants and white gloves using a key to enter the church at some point during the night between June 13 and 14.

Patrick Simmons, the church’s security manager, told DeKalb police that the master key was missing from the secretary’s desk on June 11 – and then “suddenly appeared” four days later.

Then they noticed that an iPhone, iPad and speaker system as well as some jewelry were missing, Simmons told police.

Police arrested Anthony Boyd, 19, of Decatur, and Maurice Robinson, 20, and charged them with burglary. Robinson’s address were not listed on the police report.

Art Franklin, a publicist for Long, said the bishop was traveling and would not be able to speak to the press. He referred all questions to the DeKalb police.

In a statement, Long said he “forgives the men and hopes that they understand what they did is wrong. Long added that he is praying for them and that God is a God of mercy and compassion.”

Teen stabbed multiple times in church parking lot

By Nicole Gonzales

WEST VALLEY CITY -- A teenage boy was stabbed nearly a dozen times Sunday morning in an LDS Church parking lot. Police are now trying to track down the attacker.

Police say the stabbing happened around 5 a.m. on the north side of the church at 3450 S. 6400 West. The 16-year-old was able to drag himself away from the scene of the crime, but collapsed a block later.

"It was an extremely bloody scene," said Sgt. Paul Gill with the West Valley City Police Department. "It was a violent attack.

Police say the attacker also beat the teen before leaving him to die.

A driver saw the teen, who was bleeding profusely, and called 911. Officers arrived soon after, and an AirMed helicopter landed in the church parking lot.

John Alvarez

"That's where they noticed the bloody clothing and a large amount of blood where it appeared the actual assault took place," Gill said.

Gill says the boy had been stabbed between 10 and 12 times from his torso up to his head. He was taken to University Hospital in stable but critical condition.

Surgeons have operated on him several times already. Investigators have not been able to speak to the teen to get a statement.

The Major Crimes Unit is investigating, looking for leads and witnesses in the area. They are not ruling out the possibility the attack may have been gang related.

"It was an extremely bloody scene. It was a violent attack." -Sgt. Paul Gill

John Alvarez lives next to the church. He didn't hear or see anything and was shocked when he got word of the attack.

"That was surprising," he said. "Out of the eight years, we've never heard of anything like that happen around here."

Alvarez and his family moved to Utah from the Los Angeles area to escape violence. Now, it's in their neighborhood and save haven -- church.

Alvarez says he and his younger siblings go to the meetinghouse every day to play basketball and run around.

"I sometimes even let my sister just go with my brothers. We always thought it was a safe place. Nothing bad and that's it. So it does change everything now," he said.

Investigators plan to look at surveillance video from a nearby Holiday gas station to see if they can find any leads. They don't have descriptions of any suspects or a getaway car.

Anyone with any information is asked to call police.

Church Member Beaten To Death In Her Own Church

Congregation member beaten to death inside her own church

By Lori Brown -

WYNNE, AR (WMC-TV) - The pastor of a Cross County, Arkansas church found an 80-year-old member of his congregation beaten to death inside the sanctuary Sunday.

Lillian Wilson was beaten to death inside the church, which was wrapped in crime scene tape Sunday night. Wilson was at the church helping with storm relief.

"Went over my home where I was born and raised and found it completely demolished," Wilson said in an interview after a tornado tore apart her parent's home in May.

Dixon Platt, Wilson's pastor, found her body under the pew when he walked into the church Sunday afternoon.

Platt had gone to Central United Methodist Church to collect disaster care buckets she had brought over. He noticed Wilson's car was not at the church.

Investigators said they believe the killers drove off in Wilson's car.

Linda Peeler remembered Wilson as a kind woman.

"Anything that helped other people, she was always there," Peeler said.

Wilson was a retired registered nurse, but even in retirement she continued to help people.

"We became friends when my dad got sick and she came and helped us take care of him," Peeler said.

Wilson, an animal lover, was a volunteer at the Wynn Animal Shelter.

"I can't understand how anyone could hurt such a wonderful person," Peeler said. "She would have gave them anything."

Investigators are looking for Wilson's car. It is a gray Mercury Marquis with Arkansas license plate 737-NGN. The front license plate has a tag that says "Eat Rice."

One suspect is reportedly Thomas Tweedle, a man in his early 40s.

Man Tackled After Threat To Shoot Mom In Church

Witnesses: Man Tackled After Threat To Shoot Mom In Church

Man Brings BB Gun To Potter's House Ministries In Mount Oliver

May 24, 2010

PITTSBURGH -- Parishioners sprang into action Sunday morning at a Mount Oliver church where a man threatened to shoot his mother after pulling out a weapon, which was later determined to be a BB gun, Pittsburgh police said.The suspect -- identified as Robert Irvin, 23, of the Mt. Washington area -- was arrested on charges including aggravated assault, terroristic threats and simple assault, police said.People at the church said they were thankful that security guards stepped in to stop the situation from getting worse. Witnesses said quick-thinking security guards prevented chaos inside Potter's House Ministries on Ormsby Avenue."I was in the back. I seen it, though. It was pretty scary," parishioner Tyreesha Hutchinson said.Video - Witnesses said the man entered the church through a side door and pulled out the gun and said, "I'm going to shoot her," police said.Security staff hired to work Sundays at the church quickly tackled the man, witnesses said.

ROBERT IRVIN

"As he came into the side, there was a couple guys that I guess seen the commotion going on and he was about to do something, so they tackled him and that's when they got him, and a couple guys got on top of him and took him off," said Precious Anderson, a parishioner.Police said security guards noticed the young man fumbling around during services, so they asked his stepfather to take him outside. Police said the stepfather took the young men outside and they talked before the young man pulled out the gun and hit his stepfather with it, cutting his ear.Bishop Otis Carswell, the church's senior pastor, said the victim is a deacon at the church. He also said he saw the young man before services."I pulled over and spoke to him and said, 'Hello, and asked him if he was coming to service today, and he said he was," Carswell said. "I just blessed him and kept going, never thinking that he would cause an incident today."Carswell said the young man has some issues, but he would not elaborate. He said parishioners will be praying for him.

Brushy Creek Baptist Church musician charged with assault on teen girl

Brushy Creek Baptist Church
musician charged with
assault on teen girl
• May 4, 2010

A member of the orchestra at Brushy Creek Baptist
Church in Taylors has been charged after
authorities alleged that he kissed a 14-year-old girl
inside the church after orchestra practice.

Perry Eugene Huff, 58, 210 Devonwood Court,
Taylors, was charged with assault and battery of a
high and aggravated nature, according to a warrant.

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office was told that
Huff kissed the girl on the lips on multiple
occasions and slapped her on the buttocks,
according to the warrant and an incident report.

“The investigator in the case along with the
Solicitor's Office agreed that, based on the evidence
and facts of the case, Huff was to be charged with
ABHAN versus criminal sexual conduct with a minor,
or lewd act on a minor, because the criteria to
charge Huff with CSC or lewd act didn't exist,” said
Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Armstrong.

Huff was arrested and released on a $10,000
personal recognizance bond, Armstrong said.

Staffers at Brushy Creek Baptist Church couldn’t be
reached for comment Monday.

Thief takes morning collection from Woodlands church

A thief broke into a Woodlands church Sunday evening and got away with the morning collection of cash and checks, authorities said.

Montgomery County sheriff's officials were notified about the burglary at The Woodlands Christian Church on North Millbend Drive about 5 p.m.

Investigators were told that someone forced his way into an interior room through an inside door and stole a safe containing cash, checks and credit cards.

The burglary happened sometime during choir practice, authorities said. Officials on Monday did not have an estimate of the amount of money taken.

Investigators have little evidence and are seeking information about the crime. Anyone with information should contact Detective Brent Akin at 281-297-6510 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-392-7867.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest or indictment of a felony crime.

Shots Fired At Church

Police said they arrested a Middle Township man Saturday after shots were fired at the Grace Gospel Church on Route 9 in Rio Grande during a church function.

No one was reported injured from the rounds fired at the church shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday.

When police arrived in response to a 911 call, witnesses said a white van fled the scene. Police found and followed the van to Shunpike Road, where its driver, William Adams, 28, of the Whitesboro neighborhood, pulled into a driveway and fled on foot.

Police surrounded the area and apprehended Adams. Police charged him with eluding a law-enforcement officer and for having a small amount of marijuana.

Middle Township Police Sgt. Richard McHale said the shooting is still under investigation by the local department’s Major Crimes Unit and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office.

3 Arrested In Church Burglary

Bastrop, La. -

The Bastrop Police Department made three arrests Friday in connection with the burglary of First Baptist Church last weekend.

Police Chief Downey Black said three televisions and three DVD players were reported stolen from the church Monday, April 19.

A Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest of Kortland Logan, 21, 604 Hollyhurst Drive. Logan was charged with possession of stolen property-felony and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The marijuana was found in his vehicle.

Subsequent investigation led to the arrests of two juveniles, both 16, in connection with the burglary of First Baptist Church. Both juveniles were charged with unauthorized entry, and one was also charged with simple burglary.

Black said as of Friday afternoon, all of the stolen property has been recovered with the exception of one TV.

Man Charged With Assaulting Woman During Church Service

Church Members Dragged Man From Service, Deputies Say

REIDSVILLE, N.C. -- A Reidsville man grabbed a woman's arm, pulled her hair and choked her during a Sunday morning service at the Solomon's Temple Church Sunday, Rockingham County deputies said.

Deputies said Antonio Simmons, 23, was asked by the pastor to leave, but he refused. Several church members then pulled him into the parking lot, deputies said.

By the time deputies arrived at the church, Simmons had already left.

A deputy spotted Simmons riding in a pickup truck along with 10 to 15 other people. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with domestic assault on a female, threatening phone call, larceny, second-degree trespass and disorderly conduct by disturbing a religious service.

Bond was set at $5,000.

The 18-year-old victim didn't require medical attention.

Police: Toddler safe after church kidnapping try

This weekend, a Eugene Police crime prevention specialist – Officer Steven Chambers – said he was working at a youth event at the church when he "observed a commotion involving a woman calling out for her missing child," according to a press release from the Eugene Police Department.

Chambers and a nearby woman say they both saw a man "luring her 2-year-old child away." The woman grabbed the child, the man jumped into his car and Chambers radioed in the man's description and direction of travel.

"A short time later, Eugene police officers stopped and detained Azoulas David Yurashunas without incident," reports the release.

Yurashunas is 23 years old.

He is now being held on charges of kidnapping, in the second degree, at Lane County Jail.

Assault At Church

Man arrested assault at
Christ the Rock Community
Church

April 12, 2010

MENASHA — Authorities arrested a 30-year-old man
on Sunday morning after he struck another man at
church then later struck a sheriff's deputy.

A Calumet County sheriff's deputy arrested the man
at about 10:45 a.m. after the incident at Christ the
Rock Community Church, W6254 U.S. 10-Wisconsin
114.

John Dedering, an investigator with the sheriff's
department, said the man broke a hallway pew after
becoming angered when denied access to the
church's child care area. He also punched and
kicked an individual who attempted to calm him
down before leaving the church. The man later
punched a sheriff's deputy who stopped him.

The man was booked into the Calumet County Jail.

Man Attempts To Kidnap Girl At Church

Girl nearly abducted during church Easter egg hunt

Cameras caught the man attempting to abduct a young girl in a church parking lot

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Police say a man tried to kidnap a little girl while she hid Easter eggs outside of a Montgomery church Sunday morning.

As of Monday afternoon, Montgomery Police were following numerous leads, though there hasn't been an arrest.

On a day devoted to faith, togetherness, and fun, parishioners at Hunter Station Baptist Church don't know what to think.

"They're not safe at their home, they're not safe at the store. They're not safe at the church no more," said Jane Silas.

Luckily, this church has a surveillance camera--which caught the attempt on tape.

The attempted abduction started during Sunday worship. A 10-year-old girl and her brother stepped outside to hide Easter eggs for the other children, according to police.

While the siblings were hiding the eggs authorities say the driver of a black SUV passed the parking lot, circled back, got out, and asked the kids to come over.

"He pulled up, attempted to talk to the subject's little brother--who was 6 years of age--and began making small talk with him," explained MPD Sergeant M.E. Tatum.

The man's small talk then abruptly ended. "He grabbed her, pushed her in the truck," Silas said.

Police say the man also pushed the boy to the ground and tried to drive off with the girl. At the same time, the quick-thinking girl jumped from the SUV and ran off.

"I have to tip my hat to the young girl for her bravery and keeping her wit about her," Tatum said.

"She actually ran from the vehicle at the time he tried to get her in, and possibly saved her life,"

It's an Easter Sunday that could have ended much worse. Church members say they'll stay out with the children next time.

"If I had been five more minutes, I'd have been coming out when he tried to grab her," said Raymond Silas.

"We're going to have to watch them closer," Jane Silas explained. "Very, very, very close. So, you can't trust anything."

Right now, police are looking a white male in his late 30s or early 40s. Authorities say the man has a bald spot on the top of his head.

He was wearing a blue polo shirt and black pants and took off in a black, Nissan XTerra-type SUV.

Police say the little girl is safe and sound and thankful to be alive. Major Huey Thornton of the Montgomery Police Department said the police are following several leads, but as of mid-morning on Monday, no one had been taken into custody.