A Naples man accused of threatening parishioners while fully armed and dropping to do pushups faces charges.
Angel Antonio Arreguin, 23, was arrested on Sunday, July 6, after the Collier County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from the Manantial de Vida Church, 5990 Golden Gate Parkway, in regard to the suspect’s erratic behavior, according to an arrest report.
Witnesses told deputies he made “strange and concerning” statements about mass shootings and being a “trained killer.”.
Authorities found Arreguin at the church armed with a 9mm handgun that had a bullet in the chamber, as well as 60 rounds of 9mm ammunition in three magazines.
The individual who reported Arreguin told officials that he was “making huffing and puffing noises” in the lobby of the Naples church, and he started doing pushups when the church service began.
He told the person who called 911 he wanted to raise his adrenaline and heart rate.
This is when a parishioner noticed that Arreguin had a gun mounted on his belt.
The caller attempted to engage Arreguin in conversation, to which he responded with profanity and anger, the arrest report says.
He then told the caller that he was trained to kill people and “asked her if she had enough money to stop a mass shooting.”
Another witness, a volunteer with the children’s ministry, quickly removed the children from their classrooms.
The pastoral staff ended the service early, upon which authorities arrived and disarmed Arreguin, the report says.
According to the arrest report, the arresting officer found clear evidence that Arreguin was having a “mental health crisis.”
Arreguin was charged with two felony counts of threat to discharge a destructive device and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. He was placed under Baker Act, which allows authorities to detain him for professional evaluation, and transported to the Naples Jail Center.
“The quick thinking of employees – calming the suspect, distracting him and quietly alerting church staff, likely prevented a violent confrontation,” Rambosk said.
The church declined making comment on the incident.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples man arrested, accused of threatening to shoot gun inside church
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
