Pastor, musician recount man waving gun at church service

By Tosin Fakile, Cameron Taylor

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    NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) — The pastor and pianist at a north Nashville church recounted the minutes when a man waved a gun during the Sunday worship service.

“I don’t know how I can explain it, but I am very grateful to God how he used us to where no one got hurt,” Ezekiel Ndikumana, the pastor of the church said.

Pastor Ndikumana and Nzojibugami Noe said it all happened at the point of the service at Nashville Light Mission Pentecostal Church on Trinity Lane when people who needed prayers were asked to come to the front of the church.

“While I was singing the chorus, I had my eyes closed, and when I had my eyes closed, that’s when I heard the guy standing right there because he got up pretty quickly,” Noe said. “He was waving the gun, waving the gun to the church and everyone else and telling some people to move or get up. Some of them were already down being ready to be prayed for.”

Noe said that’s when his pastor stepped in.

“It reminded me of how David defeated Goliath,” Noe said. “I will say that was strength God put into our pastor.”

He described the moments the pastor started taking steps before taking the man with the gun down. Police identified the man as 26-year-old Dezire Baganda.

“My pastor walked, took steps, stood right here for a little bit to see what he was doing, making sure he wasn’t looking at him,” Noe said, describing Ezekiel Ndkiumanan’s actions. “Then he walked, took some more steps and made sure he is not looking at him, and then he opened the door, pretending like he is going out, and then he kept an eye on him.

Ndikumana then tackled Baganda to the ground.

“As soon as he saw him, that he was not looking at him, he went quickly, pushed the chair and then he grabbed him, and then they all fell on the ground. That’s when everyone else came to help him to make sure he stayed down, and the gun was away from him.”

Ndkiumana and other church members held Baganda on the ground until police arrived.

“I was trying to tell everybody to clear out, to get out, because it was not safe,” Noe said.

“It was either die or grab him to where he doesn’t hurt anybody in which God used the grabbing him not to hurt anybody,” Pastor Ndikumana said.

Baganda was originally charged with 15 counts of felony aggravated assault. On Monday, police said Baganda was now facing 57 counts of felony aggravated assault.

Baganda isn’t a stranger to the church. Noe said Baganda visited the church in February and disrupted the service when he was there. Noe said he never came back to the church until Sunday.

“They warned him at first. They said what you’re doing is not right, you’re interrupting the service,” Noe said. “When he came back yesterday, he seemed different cause he had dreads before and he came back without dreads. He was calm, he was very calm. He was sitting the whole time and we didn’t know he had anything else planned.”

Noe said he is not afraid to return to church next Sunday, worried about something else happening.

“I’m not afraid. I’m not nervous at all because this is were I’ve been coming to church and I love it here and I feel very safe every time I come to church here,” Noe said.

It was a scary experience Sunday, but one Noe believes ended in the best way with everyone leaving church safe and unharmed.

“I would say that God gave us, everyone, strength to just be calm and not to worry just like the word of God we heard at the beginning of service,” Noe said.

While no one was hurt and no shots were fired, it’s a day church members will never forget.

“We still have thoughts because we don’t know the coming future. We don’t know if he came by himself or if he has another group on the outside,” Pastor Ndikumana said.

The pastor said he’s not able to say if he’ll hire security, but he plans to talk with other church leaders before making that call.

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