Wow Catholic Priest Hailed as a Hero after Tackling Suspected Car Thief in Detroit

Detroit Priest Intervenes to Stop Suspected Car Thief Outside St. Joseph Shrine

DETROIT — A typical Monday evening at St. Joseph Shrine took a dramatic turn when a local priest stepped in to protect his neighborhood, physically detaining a suspected car thief following a violent hit-and-run crash right outside the church gates.

Reverend Canon Jean-Baptiste Commins, a French priest serving at the historic Detroit parish near Saint Aubin and Antietam, was in the church parking lot when he heard the screech of tires followed by a loud impact. Investigators believe the 18-year-old suspect was driving a stolen vehicle and crashed into another car while attempting to flee from police.

Rushing toward the scene, Canon Commins, who was wearing his traditional clerical attire, spotted a young man fleeing the wreckage on foot with only one shoe. When a bystander called out to stop him, the priest's instincts took over.

"I grabbed him and put him down," Canon Commins said. "He was resisting a lot, trying to run away, definitely, and so I had to, unfortunately, give him a few punches and hurt my hand a little bit — nothing major — but making sure that there was no threat, since I didn't know if he had a gun, if he had a weapon."

Reflecting on the quick decision to intervene, he added, "It was definitely, you know, suspicious behavior and probably guilty of the accident."

With the assistance of another church member, Canon Commins managed to hold the suspect down on the ground until Detroit police officers arrived to take him into custody. The 18-year-old was arrested, and three other individuals were detained by law enforcement.

As soon as the suspect was secured, the priest’s pastoral duties immediately took precedence. He hurried over to the victim of the crash—a woman in the struck vehicle who sustained non-life-threatening injuries—to offer spiritual care.

"I rushed back to the lady, to make sure, you know, if she needed the Anointing of the Sick or a blessing or something," Canon Commins explained. "So I was there, too, with the medics, and she was not very responsive. But her eyes were twitching a little bit."

Despite the adrenaline-pumping ordeal, the canon quietly returned to his religious duties once the scene cleared, keeping his focus on the community's spiritual life.

Asked about how he spent the rest of his evening, Canon Commins smiled. "Yes, I went and had to do my prayers as usual and have dinner with the community, and wow, just another day, just another day in the D."

Source: https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/detroit-priest-becomes-crime-fighting-good-samaritan-tackles-car-thief-suspect