Pastor Fights Off Burglar Who Broke into Church on Thanksgiving

A burglar got more than he bargained for after breaking into a church on Thanksgiving — when he was greeted by a pastor trained in martial arts.

On the morning of Thursday, Nov. 28, a man used an axe to smash a window at First Family Church, a Baptist church in Antioch, Calif., causing an alarm to go off, the Antioch Police Department (APD) said in a Facebook post.

Pastor Nick Neves went to go check on the disturbance and was “not expecting” to find a burglar, police said.

Despite being confronted by the pastor, the man — who has not yet been identified by police — decided to put up a fight.

“I shouted at him to stop, and that the police were on their way,” Neves, 46, recalled to NBC News. “And he ran and I grabbed a hold of him and we ended up wrestling in the parking lot of the church.”

The First Family Church pastor also had a trick up his sleeve — a slew of martial arts training under his belt.

“I like to stay fit,” Neves told NBC News. “And I studied in some jujitsu and kickboxing and I have a mixed martial arts background.”

This training, he told the outlet, came in handy, allowing him to “grapple with this gentleman without having to do much harm to him.”

In a confrontation that lasted around 12 to 15 minutes, Neves “held down” the would-be burglar until officers arrived and put him in custody, according to police.

“I was able to pin him to the ground and he got up and try to get away several times,” Neves told NBC News. “But basically just trying to wear him out because I knew I could outlast him.”

The Antioch Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Neves walked away from the Thanksgiving altercation uninjured, the APD said on Facebook, prompting community members to express how “proud” they are and praise him for his “fabulous job” in the comments.

“It could’ve gone in [a] totally different direction and we thank God that it didn’t,” a longtime member of the church, Jeff Strawther, told NBC News. “[Neves is] very tough and we’re very grateful to God that he’s our pastor and not our enemy.”

Speaking with the outlet, Neves said he hopes the burglar will change his ways. He also explained that, had the man simply walked in the front door of the church — which just provided groceries for 130 families — he would have taken care of him.

“It’s just ironic,” the pastor said. “If he had come a couple of days earlier, he would have been blessed and get some food and be cared for. But he decided instead to smash windows and desecrate property and do something that’s going to hurt the ministries.”