Police: Man arrested after battering priest, barricading self at Melbourne church
By FOX 35 News Staff
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Police: Man arrested after battering priest, barricading self at Melbourne church
Officers say they have arrested a man after a disturbance at a Central Florida church where a suspect battered a priest before barricading himself. The Melbourne Police Department said that officers responded to a disturbance at the Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church on Guava Avenue on Sunday morning.
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Officers say they have arrested a man after a disturbance at a Central Florida church where a suspect battered a priest before barricading himself.
SWAT team arrests armed man who barricaded himself inside Melbourne church
Mark Patrick Soliman was arrested by SWAT team
Thomas Metevia, Digital Content Producer, Orlando
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Contributed photo (Brevard County Sheriff s Office)
According to investigators, officers responded to the Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church around 7:45 a.m. after a disturbance between a man and church officials.
The man was identified as Mark Patrick Soliman. Soliman is a known individual at the church, officers said.
Melbourne PD said the disturbance turned violent after Soliman battered one of the priests.
Police said Soliman was trying to abduct the priest and dragged him out towards his car in the parking lot right before church started.