A deacon was tackled during a sermon at a Florida church. Then 10 people ran to help
A deacon was in the middle of a sermon at a Pompano Beach Catholic church when deputies say he was tackled to the ground by a man who was sitting in the front pew.
It happened so fast, it was like a “blur,” Deacon George Labelle said Tuesday.
Surveillance cameras recorded the assault at St. Coleman Catholic Church, 1200 S. Federal Hwy., during an evening Mass on Saturday.
The video shows Labelle walking around the church, speaking to the congregation. A man, whom deputies have identified as 28-year-old Thomas Eisel, is sitting by himself in one of the front pews.
Suddenly, Eisel gets up and charges at the deacon, “wrestling him down into a pew,” Eisel’s arrest affidavit states.
Labelle says he was shocked and “blind-sided” by the attack from the “young, strong man” but is grateful for people in the congregation who stepped up to help him.
“It’s great, so comforting to know there were people there ... it was a relief,” he said.
It took at least 10 people to “separate Eisel from the victim and ultimately subdue him,” the report states.
Labelle, who has served the St. Coleman community for about a year and a half, says it was a blessing that nothing worse happened and that he wasn’t hurt. Once Broward deputies arrived to arrest Eisel, the church continued its service and “made a plea to the congregation to pray” for him, the deacon said.
Deputies say Eisel told them that he attacked the deacon with the intent of hurting him. The arrest report does not state a motive for the attack. Labelle says it was the first time he had seen Eisel at a service. Eisel also didn’t say anything during the attack, he said.
“The Archdiocese is grateful no one was seriously injured during this frightening incident. The immediate response from parishioners allowed the deacon to continue with the Mass,” the Archdiocese of Miami said in a statement. “Hopefully, the young man receives the care and help he needs.”
Eisel, a Pompano Beach resident, is charged with one count of battery and one count of disrupting a religious assembly. He’s also charged with violating his probation for an incident involving battery against a person over 65 years of age in Volusia County, according to his arrest records.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 1:08 PM.
