POULSBO — The man goose-stepped up the aisle as the Rev. David Young led 10:45 a.m. Mass at St. Olaf Catholic Church, 18943 Caldart Ave., Oct. 4.

He was in his mid-20s, disheveled and was mumbling unintelligibly, one witness said.

“He looked like he was in a daze,” said Vince Pileggi, a retired Los Angeles police officer who witnessed the incident. “He didn’t look like he was going to sit down and listen to (the priest) at all.”

The man goose-stepped up to the altar, stomping his boots “like he was in a Hitler movie,” past the priest and then dropped his backpack. Then he walked behind the altar, smiling and gripping the edges as if he were about to speak.

“It was extremely odd,” said a witness with the St. Olaf staff spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Nobody walks up past the altar like that.”

Two men from the choir tackled him and took him outside.

“He wasn’t up there 10 seconds,” church staff said.

Pileggi said the man resisted a little by going limp, but wasn’t combative.

As he was being taken out, the man said, “You guys are handling me kind of rough,” according to church staff.

Parents ran outside with their children. Someone grabbed the backpack and threw it outside into the field and called 911.

Poulsbo police arrived  but didn’t arrest man as there was no crime committed, said Deputy Police Chief John Halsted.

“He was offered a ride away from the area and accepted a ride to Wal-Mart with one of our officers,” Halsted said. “The backpack contained personal items such as clothing.”

The man appeared to be a transient with possible mental problems, Halsted said.

It appears the man meant no harm, but the incident startled many in the congregation.

“When it happened, you flash back instantly — instantly — to what happened in Oregon,” Pileggi said referring to the shooting at Umpqua Community College on Oct. 1.

According to church staff, the man was seen having breakfast at the St. Olaf social hall earlier in the day, where he was seen trying to take money from a donation plate.

Rev. Young eventually finished his service. The parents with young children didn’t return.

Though their sense of security was shaken, their faith was not.

The congregation prayed for the man.