On Easter, the manager of a Walgreens store suffered a Bible belting “because she was being rude,” according to a customer who is now facing a felony battery charge.

Police say Peter Owens, 35, went to the pharmacy Sunday evening to purchase a pair of headphones. While at the Clearwater, Florida business, Owens got into a “verbal altercation” with an employee over the headphones, according to a criminal complaint.

When Nicole Merck, the 36-year-old store manager, approached Owens (seen at right) and asked him to leave the Walgreens, “Peter used the brown Bible in his hand and struck Nicole in the face one time before he exited the store.”

After the alleged Bible battery, cops located Owens and took him into custody. After being read his rights, Owens reportedly admitted to striking Merck “in the face one time with his Bible because she was being rude to him.”

“Peter stated he did not mean to hit her,” Officer Ryan Wall reported.

The criminal charge against Owens was enhanced to a felony count since he has a 2020 conviction in Michigan for assault & battery (for which he was sentenced to a year’s probation).

Owens was released from the county jail last night after posting $5000 bond. A judge has ordered him to have no contact with Merck and he must stay away from the Walgreens outlet.

According to his Facebook page, Owens works as a golf instructor and is a Wayne State University graduate. A Grosse Pointe, Michigan native, Owens now lives in Ellenton, a Gulf Coast city near Sarasota.