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NEW YORK (AP) – A gunman opened fire from the steps of New York City’s Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine just after an outdoor choir performance there on Sunday (December 13), and he himself was shot and killed by police, according to police and a Reuters photographer. In the scene.
New York City Police Department spokesman Sergeant Edward Riley said the gunman had fired at police, but no officer or bystander was believed to have been injured in the afternoon violence on the Upper West Side. from Manhattan.
The suspect, who was not identified, was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, Sgt. New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea later told reporters that the attacker had died.
Police officers stand guard as a man shoots outside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, the U.S., December 13, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Jeenah Moon)
The shooting occurred outside the historic cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, located at Amsterdam Avenue and West 112th Street, about 15 minutes after the conclusion of an open-air choir performance on the steps of the church that drew a crowd. audience of about 200 people.
The choir’s annual Christmas concert had been moved abroad in accordance with COVID-19 health safety rules.
Only about 15 people were still present when the gunman appeared at the top of the steps, shouting “Kill me” and “Shoot me” while firing a pistol, causing passersby to run for cover in panic, according to a Reuters photographer. who was at the scene.
Police officers who had taken cover ordered the suspect several times to drop the gun before shooting him, the photographer said. Choir members were already inside the church at the time of the shooting, which lasted several minutes, he said.
New York police officers carry an alleged gunman on a stretcher down the steps of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine on December 13, 2020, in New York. (Photo: AP / Ted Shaffrey)
Reuters photos of the gunman showed him wearing a black winter coat, a white baseball-style cap and a face mask adorned with the Dominican Republic flag, as he wielded two pistols, one in each hand. He also wore a large backpack strapped to his shoulders.
Police said officers recovered two firearms from the scene after the shooting.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter that “the swift action of our NYPD officers kept the crowd safe.”
