A party hostess scared off an armed robber by calling on Jesus to get rid of him, she claimed this week.
Jacquie Halger’s 14 female guests then began chanting along with her, frightening the terrified gunman into fleeing her Florida home, she added.
The homeowner was holding a jewellery party when Derek Lee ran in wearing a ski cap and bandana and brandishing his weapon.
The 24-year-old intruder demanded they drop their money and phones into his duffel bag.
But many of the guests, who had just sat down and got out their purses, thought Lee’s arrival was part of the game, First Coast News reported.
One woman pushed his hand aside and insisted he was only holding a water pistol, according to news4jax.com.
‘I felt this boldness come up in me and I just stood up and said, “In the name of Jesus, get out of my house,”,’ said Ms Hagler. ‘And he said, “I’m going to shoot somebody if you don’t do what I say.”’
Ms Hagler repeated her order and the other guests began chanting, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’
The would-be thief quickly scanned the room and looked terrified before fleeing the scene, said the homeowner. Donna Bowen, who was at the party with her 14-year-old daughter, said: ‘You knew that God’s hand… He was in there. It could have went so differently.’
Police said the suspect also tried to mug a 62-year-old woman at a nearby Bank of America ATM, but ran off when she started shouting.
He was later identified by partygoers and the woman he tried to rob on the street, and was traced to his father’s house.
Ms Hagler said the experience had strengthened her faith and that God had been her ‘shield and her protector.’
She has forgiven Lee, she added, and is praying that he will find salvation and turn his life around.
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