'Unstable' man walks into Chicago church claiming to have gun

church exterior
Christ Lutheran Church in Albany Park Photo credit WBBM Newsradio

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — There were concerns at a Northwest Side church when a man showed up during Sunday services and said he had a gun.

Sue Terrell says she could tell the 26-year-old was paranoid while talking to him in the vestibule of Christ Lutheran Church in Albany Park.

“You could tell this man was very mentally fragile and unstable,” said Terrell, the wife of the church’s pastor and a psychotherapist in private practice.

The were about 80 people inside the church Sunday around 11 a.m., unaware of what was going on nearby.

Terrell said she asked the man to put down his gun after he claimed he’d been in a shootout a couple of hours before that. He refused.

“I said, ‘We don’t feel safe when you have a gun. Can you, please, take your gun and,’ — I motioned to place it on the floor — ‘can you, please, put the gun over there?’ And he said, ‘No, I need it to be safe.’”

Terrell called 9-1-1, and then she and a member of the congregation continued to talk to the man.

She praises the way Chicago police officers handled the situation.

“They just were a smooth operation but very respectful the whole time and in a very calm demeanor.”

She says the man had told officers he wanted to go home. They told him they would take him to a place he could get help.  Police say he was taken to Swedish Hospital for a mental evaluation.

Police also say the man had a BB gun, not a real gun.

Terrell says the church council likely will address the incident to review safety but also that Christ Lutheran Church remains a welcoming place and a sanctuary church.  Her personal view is she’d like to avoid putting security cameras around the church.

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