Man arrested for terrorizing North Braddock pastor now charged in cousin's death

The man arrested for pointing a gun at a North Braddock pastor inside a church on Sunday has been charged with killing his cousin earlier that day.

Bernard Polite, 26, is charged with criminal homicide in connection with the shooting death of Derek Polite, 56.

Two of Derek Polite’s cousins saw video of the church incident on the news Sunday night and went to his home at 578 Stokes Ave. in North Braddock, according to a criminal complaint in the case.

The pair found Derek Polite laying on the home’s second-floor stairs in a pool of blood, the complaint said. He had been shot in the head. Polite was pronounced dead at 8:26 p.m.

Detectives said they learned Bernard Polite was seen pacing outside the Stokes Avenue residence, which he shared with his cousin. A neighbor later reported hearing a noise that might have been a single gunshot around 10 a.m., according to the complaint.

Allegheny County Police said Tuesday that the projectile recovered from the victim matched the gun that Polite pointed at the pastor.

Bernard Polite, who had been jailed since Monday on the charges stemming from the church incident, was awaiting arraignment Tuesday afternoon on the homicide charge.

Around 1 p.m. Sunday, Bernard Polite walked into Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church, pointed a silver, semi-automatic handgun at the Rev. Glenn Germany, who was mid-sermon, and squeezed the trigger, police said. The gun jammed and did not discharge.

The mayhem unfolded in real time on a Facebook Live video.

Pennsylvania State Police arrested Polite after the church’s deacon, Clarence McCallister, tackled him.

McCallister and Germany worked together to take the gun away from Polite and held him down until police arrived.

As he was being pinned, Polite told Germany, “The spirits in his head told him to do it, and when you hear things in your head, you do it,” according to police.

In an interview Sunday, Bernard Polite told police he heard music coming from the church, which drew him inside.

Bernard Polite wouldn’t directly say what he did but he later said that God told him to do it, a criminal complaint said.

He added that “he did what he did today so that he could go to jail and clear his mind.”