Man with axe stuns Stockholm congregation
Worshippers at the All Saints Church in Stockholm panicked on Sunday when a man wielding an axe and a can full of gasoline interrupted the pastor during services.
“Everyone was scared and as many people ran out the church as they could,” said witness Mathias Bridfeldt to the Aftonbladet newspaper.
The pastor was in the middle of his sermon when the man walked slowly toward the altar.
It was only after people noticed the man was holding an axe and a large gasoline canister that the congregation became gripped with fear.
The man then began speaking out load and interrupted the pastor, instructing everyone to remain calm.
“It was a unbelievably strange situation, like a shock that slowly spread,” said Bridfeldt.
“The man was really calm, he didn’t behave violently. But it was still really scary when you thought about what he had in his hands.”
A few members of the church decided to confront the man and were able to convince him to put down the axe and gas can.
He was then taken from the church and police were called.
Police took the man to St. Göran’s Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation while the pastor did his best to continue with his sermon.
“But many were still shaken and a few were crying, so the pastor had to revisit the incident one more time,” said Bridfeldt.
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“Everyone was scared and as many people ran out the church as they could,” said witness Mathias Bridfeldt to the Aftonbladet newspaper.
The pastor was in the middle of his sermon when the man walked slowly toward the altar.
It was only after people noticed the man was holding an axe and a large gasoline canister that the congregation became gripped with fear.
The man then began speaking out load and interrupted the pastor, instructing everyone to remain calm.
“It was a unbelievably strange situation, like a shock that slowly spread,” said Bridfeldt.
“The man was really calm, he didn’t behave violently. But it was still really scary when you thought about what he had in his hands.”
A few members of the church decided to confront the man and were able to convince him to put down the axe and gas can.
He was then taken from the church and police were called.
Police took the man to St. Göran’s Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation while the pastor did his best to continue with his sermon.
“But many were still shaken and a few were crying, so the pastor had to revisit the incident one more time,” said Bridfeldt.
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