Pastor approaches man with gun at North Carolina church

FAYETTEVILLE, NC -- A pastor talked to a man who entered his North Carolina church with a gun over the weekend as his parishioners screamed and fled.

At the New Year's Eve service, just before midnight, Rev. Larry Wright saw the man first. Wright said he asked the man if he could help him.

Church member Taylor Morgan told local station WRAL, "I didn't see anything but this big rifle."

Wright recalled that the man asked Wright to pray for him. "When he said that then I knew everything was going to be all right," Wright said.

No one was hurt.

Days after the incident while Wright was being interviewed about the situation, the man involved showed up again at the church to apologize.

The man, a veteran, asked the station not to identify him. He is not facing charges. He says his wife has been diagnosed with a debilitating disease and they are struggling financially. He says he's also struggling with PTSD and he can't afford his medication.

The man says he was given a gun and that he came to the church because it would be a safe place to get rid of the gun and not get into trouble. He says he didn't mean any harm and that he hopes to become part of the church's ministry.

Church member Lucrecia Hall said, "I pray that he comes back and visit us. I'm not scared of him. Not now."