A gunman was shot and killed by New York City police officers after he started wildly shooting outside of a church in Harlem. A crowd of people was gathered outside of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine as a choir sang Christmas carols on Sunday (December 14) afternoon.
It was the first public event the church had held in months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We had been planning this concert for weeks as a gift to the community, and the weather was beautiful, so the whole community was out, physically distanced with masks, people with dogs, and people with babies,” Lisa Schubert, a cathedral spokeswoman, said. “It was something like we haven’t seen since last March.”
Just as the choir had finished singing, the 52-year-old suspect ran to the top steps of the church and pulled out two handguns. He started firing into the air as the crowd rushed to find cover.
“He started shouting, ‘Kill me! Kill me!’ and shooting at the big metal door in the center [of the church],” a witness told the New York Post.
Three police officers engaged the suspect and fired 15 shots, fatally wounding him. They recovered two handguns, a canister filled with gasoline, rope, knives, and a heavily-used Bible.
“It was just beautiful, and then at the end, this person started shooting. Everybody is in shock,” Schubert said. “The shooter could have killed a lot of people. There were hundreds of people here, and he shot at least 20 times.”
Miraculously, none of the attendees were injured.
“It is by the grace of God today that we don’t have anyone struck,” New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
Authorities have not identified the shooter. They said he was 52-years-old and had a lengthy criminal history, including a murder conviction in 1990.
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