A church elder is being hailed as a hero for his quick action to disarm a woman following a shooting above a crowded church courtyard in Kalihi Saturday afternoon.

A baptism celebration had just ended and dozens of people were entering the courtyard of the Samoa-Tokelau Seventh-day Adventist Church on Banyan Street when a shot rang out at about 1 p.m.

Taleni Asuega said he had just gotten to church when he heard a loud bang, looked up to a second-floor church classroom and saw that his uncle, Tali Talitonu, had been shot in the shoulder.

Paramedics treated a 60-year-old man for a gunshot wound to the back and took him to the hospital in stable condition, according to a report from Emergency Medical Services. Police arrested a 59-year-old Kalihi woman at the church on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder at 1:10 p.m.

A church elder, Tony Williams, 57, grabbed the hand and the gun of the suspect, pointing it away from the victim and the crowd below, said Sam Tapuolo.

“It was like the movies. It happened so quick.” Tapuolo said. “As soon as you heard the bang, he already had her.”

“A lot of kids were around,” Asuega said.

“The church had just finished, so everybody was coming out. Anybody could have been hit,” Tapuolo said.

Saturday’s service was a baptism for several members, including his uncle, Asuega said.

The suspect was also a member of the congregation. Police took her away after the shooting.

It’s not clear why she shot the victim.

“It was kind of shocking. Out of all places, a church,” Tapuolo said. “Our love goes out to the victim, also to the person who caused this.”