Huh!?

That was my first reaction when I heard about a stranger walking into a North Carolina church assembly with a rifle and ammo — and finding a welcoming congregation.

The local newspaper, the Fayetteville Observer, quoted pastor Larry Wright of Heal the Land Outreach Ministries:

Wright said the man, who has not been identified by police yet, was carrying the rifle without a clip in one hand and a loaded ammunition clip in the other hand. But, Wright said, he didn’t know if the rifle had a round of ammunition in it.

Wright stepped down quickly from the pulpit when he saw the man, who appeared to be in his late 20s.

The man continued moving toward the front of the church, pointing the rifle into the air.

The two met, near the front of the sanctuary.

“Can I help you?’’ the pastor asked the man.

Wright, who is a 57-year-old retired soldier, said the man’s answer determined his next action.

“If he was belligerent, I was going to tackle him,” said Wright, who is 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds.

But the stranger was calm, and Wright took the weapon from him. He then patted him down, and the pastor summoned four strong deacons to embrace the disarmed man, in an effort to make him feel welcome.

Wright then prayed for the man, who fell to his knees and began crying.

As tends to happen these days, the story quickly went viral — and I found myself looking for more details on the man involved. After all, if he had opened fire, journalists would be delving into every kernel of his background.

But the national reports I read seemed content to protect the man's anonymity.