New York: A gunman opened fire from the steps of New York City’s Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine just after an outdoor choir performance there on Sunday, and was himself shot and wounded by police, according to police and a Reuters photographer at the scene.
New York City Police Department spokesman Sergeant Edward Riley said the gunman had fired on police, but no officers or bystanders were believed to have been injured in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
The suspect, who was not identified, was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, the sergeant said.
The late-afternoon shooting occurred outside the landmark cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of New York, located at Amsterdam Avenue and West 112th Street, shortly after an outdoor choir performance on the steps of the church had ended.
Only about a dozen bystanders were present at the time of the gunfire, which erupted 15 or 20 minutes after a crowd of more than 200 people had gathered for the concert, according to a Reuter photographer who was on the scene.
Reuters photographs of the gunman showed him wearing a black winter coat, a white baseball-style cap and a face mask emblazoned with the flag of the Dominican Republican, as he stood wielding two pistols, one in each hand. He also was carrying a large backpack strapped to his shoulders.
Police said officers recovered two firearms from the scene after the shooting.
