A 26-year-old man has been arrested after an attempt to shoot the pastor of a church during a service in the US on Sunday.

However, his gun refused to fire while attempting to shoot the pastor.

The man identified as Bernard J Polite wanted to gun the pastor down, saying, “God told him to do it”.

The incident happened when the Sunday was ongoing, plunging the congregation into pandemonium as the service was being livestreamed, according to the police.

According to the police press release, Polite of Braddock entered the church just after 1 p.m. and walked toward the front while the Rev Glenn Germany was delivering a sermon.

The pastor disclosed that Polite smiled at him and they made eye contact just before he pointed the gun at him, and Germany then ducked out of the way as a male congregant tackled Polite, ABC News reports.

Germany and the member of the church then worked together to wrest the gun away from Polite, who was soon subdued and held until state troopers arrived.

Polite said “God told me to do it” and that he planned to shoot Germany and “wait to be arrested” so he could go to jail and clear his mind, according to court documents.

He faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault and attempted homicide, and was being held Monday without bail at the Allegheny County Jail.