GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Members of a northeast Gainesville church are dealing with their service being disrupted by the arrest of a man wanted by police. It happened Sunday at the Gainesville Christian Center service.

Many church members were outraged after the church service was interrupted. According to the police report, an employee at Dollar General reported that Anthony Gainey Jr. threatened the store clerk while shoplifting. Officers saw him with a shopping bag and tried to arrest him, but he ran into the church, where officers chased him. Gainey’s father was there.

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“When I look at the aggression that they had when they were trying to handcuff my son, it made me sad because at the end of the day, we were trying to tell them that he has a mental illness,” Anthony Gainey Sr. added.

People who attended the church captured footage of the chaotic moments of Gainey being arrested.

The arrest report says Gainey robbed the store, tried to escape when he was arrested and ran into the church. Gainey’s father tells me his son has a mental condition

“My son has never been a part of or accused of being prosecuted as being in a gang. Even so about the child abuse he was involved with his own son. “Usually, people you know you’re going through, sometimes they put all that in there to justify their actions,” Gainey Sr. added.

City Manager Cynthia Curry responded to the incident by saying, “I can only imagine how deeply this affected the parishioners in attendance. It is also extremely upsetting to me that this happened in front of families and children.

The police department continues to investigate, with the aim of clarifying the events that happened during the service.

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