NYPD officers shot and killed an armed suspect who allegedly opened fire outside a Manhattan cathedral as carolers sang on the steps of the church, the department reports.
None of the carolers or people nearby were injured or killed in the incident outside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, police said.
The carolers were ending their singing around 3:45 p.m. when an unidentified man opened fire near the doors of the church, Commissioner Dermot Shea told reporters at a news conference, ABC reports.
Two semi-automatic firearms were recovered from the scene, along with a bag that reportedly belonged to the suspect. The bag allegedly contained gasoline, rope, wire, multiple knives, a Bible and tape, according to Shea.
In video taken by a bystander and posted on Facebook, the gunman, who was dressed in black, can be heard shouting, "kill me, kill me," before he is fatally shot on the steps of the cathedral.
"I figured that I should take a video of this thing that could have been far worse than just the shooter getting shot and killed," Steven Wilson, who posted the video, wrote. He said he only recorded the video after he knew his family was safe.
