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- A gunman was shot and killed outside a church in New York.
- Shot from the steps of the church.
- Witnesses say he challenged the police to shoot him.
Police shot and killed a man after he opened fire near crowds who had gathered to watch Christmas carols sing outside a New York church Sunday.
New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea said no one was injured during the shooting on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan.
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Three police officers fired a total of 15 shots at the man, Shea told reporters.
“The defendant was hit on the head at least once and has died,” he said.
Police recovered two guns from the scene and a nearby bag that had a container full of gasoline, rope, wire, and several knives.
An AFP journalist who witnessed the incident said she saw the man shoot from the steps of the church as a few hundred people began to disperse when the open-air choral concert ended shortly before 4:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. GMT) .
“I heard two or three explosions that were really loud,” he said. “I looked up and maybe ten meters from me on the stairs there was a guy shooting.
“I saw the bursts of shots coming out of the gun and I started to run away. I just ran for my life.”
Witness Martha Stolley said the man fired eight to 10 shots before a police officer shot him.
“I was shooting without aiming at anyone,” he said, adding that the man was yelling, “Shoot me, kill me.”
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