San Fernando pastor seriously injured in attack

A San Fernando pastor was hospitalized and recovering from a broken hip and other injuries after he was allegedly beaten by a former congregant Wednesday, KTLA reported.

Rudy Trujillo, the pastor of Faith Center, was assaulted Wednesday morning in the 700 block of North Maclay Avenue, San Fernando Police Chief Anthony Vairo told KTLA.

Trujillo’s son, Joshua, told the news station that his father was getting out of a car between meetings when he was attacked by a man he had not seen since the man left the church a few years ago.

Trujillo suffered a broken hip and was expected to undergo surgery, Joshua Trujillo wrote on Facebook.

“While we understand, even share your anger, we must never forget that what we preach, especially pastor Rudy Trujillo, is that we are to forgive and have mercy upon those who trespass against us,” Joshua Trujillo wrote in a Facebook post shared by the church.

“Jesus teaches us to love even those who hate us and violently attack us.… We refuse to hate those who hate us, nor retaliate with violence against those who violently attack us.”

Rudy Trujillo and his wife, Annette, lead the congregation at Faith Center, which meets in Las Palmas Park. Trujillo serves on the San Fernando Transportation and Safety Commission and works as a gang interventionist with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Gang Reduction & Youth Development Foundation, according to the church’s website.

Trujillo has been organizing an event called Stop the Violence! that’s focused on stopping drugs, gangs and violence. The event, billed as a “night of hope,” is scheduled for later this month at 777 N. Maclay Ave., near where Trujillo was beaten.

[email protected]

Twitter: @haileybranson