Pastor Forgives Teen Who Held Him at Gunpoint, Becomes His Mentor

What would you do if the teenager who pointed a gun at you, pistol-whipped you and stole your car suddenly became someone God was calling you to mentor?

For Bridgeport, Connecticut, Pastor Kenneth Moales Jr., forgiveness has become far more than a sermon topic. It has become an act of radical faith.

According to News 12 Connecticut, Moales is now mentoring the teenager accused of violently carjacking him in Baltimore last year. Even more remarkably, the pastor is advocating for the charges against the young man to be dropped.

The terrifying encounter unfolded June 29, 2025, while Moales, pastor of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bridgeport, was visiting Baltimore for a funeral.

Moales told News 12 that he had just arrived on Pratt Street when a gunman approached his vehicle, pointed a firearm at his face and ordered him out of the car.

“I got out of the car — but then my instinct was to fight the gunman, because I knew my life was at stake,” Moales recalled in News 12’s earlier coverage of the attack.

Surveillance footage captured what happened next. Moales fought back, eventually tackling his attacker and wrestling the gun away from him. But when Moales realized just how young his attacker was, everything changed.

The pastor said he told the teenager that he was a pastor, father and husband and offered to let him leave without pressing charges.

The teenager, however, still drove away in Moales’ vehicle.

Police later tracked the car through its navigation system and arrested the teen along with two others.

But the story did not end with an arrest. Moales’ response after the attack is perhaps even more stunning than the confrontation itself.

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News 12 reported Aug. 23 that rather than pursuing prison time for his attacker, Moales is now mentoring the teen and the two other juveniles arrested with him through a church program.

“I’ve already forgiven him,” Moales told News 12. “I’ve chosen to forgive this young man and empower another generation of young men to find significance in their life.”

What could have remained one of the darkest moments of Moales’ life is now being transformed into an opportunity for redemption.

His decision does not erase the seriousness of what happened. A gun was involved. His life was endangered. The teenager’s actions had real consequences. Yet Moales’ response demonstrates something Christians are commanded to practice but often find extraordinarily difficult when the wounds are personal: forgiveness.

Jesus’ command to love our enemies sounds very different when the enemy has held a gun to your chest.

For Moales, however, forgiveness has moved beyond words. The teenager who once attacked him is now someone he is choosing to pour into, proving that sometimes the person standing on the other side of our pain may also be the very person God gives us an opportunity to reach.

Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact media@.