Pastor Burnice Mikell, 64, was arrested Tuesday after allegedly punching Felipe Madrigal, 70, outside a church in Opa-locka, Florida. Madrigal had arrived earlier in the day to deliver 12 pallets of food to locals, many of whom have been in economic distress due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tensions flared when the pastor noticed the rival food handout being set up and angrily confronted Madrigal.

“When I said, ‘Why don’t you help us?’ At that moment, he hit me and [I] went backwards on the sidewalk and landed on the street … my phone went flying. It is broken,” Madrigal told WPLG.

Earlier in the week, Madrigal and his group the Rotary Club of Doral had arranged their giveaway with a deacon at Mount Tabor Ministries, the church where Mikell serves as pastor. The pastor was apparently unaware of the arrangement and assumed the food was being donated for his own giveaway later in the week.

After being knocked out, Madrigal did not seek medical attention immediately and instead went to a different location to continue with the food giveaway, distributing over 1,000 bags of groceries.

Madrigal said he is suffering from a head and neck injury due to the unprovoked attack. He said the pastor was the first person who had acted aggressively towards him over many years of giving away food.

“This guy is an a–hole. I’ve been doing this for many, many years and I’ve never found somebody that came to perform aggression when I’m giving stuff to needy people,” Madrigal told The Miami Herald.

Mikell claimed he was acting in self-defense, insisting that Madrigal had arrived on the wrong day and telling police he feared for his life.

“We do not do food distribution on Tuesday. We do food distribution on Thursday,” Mikell told WPLG. “He was right close up on me. I thought he was gonna hit me. I thought he was gonna hit me. I was defending myself.”

However, witnesses told police that Madrigal had been approached by Mikell and punched for “no reason,” according to local media reports.

Newsweek reached out to Opa-locka Police for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Mikell was released on bond after being held on a charge of aggravated battery of an elderly person. He returned to the area of the incident on Thursday to complete his usual weekly food giveaway.