NYPD Commissioner Dermat Shia said an armed gunman who opened fire on an unidentified number of people outside a Manhattan church was shot dead by police officers Sunday afternoon.
The shootings were first reported at 3:45 pm on the front steps of St. John the Divine Cathedral following the annual Christmas concert.
A police officer who was already at the scene and a social affairs detective, with the help of a nearby sergeant, quickly got the gunman involved, Shia told a news conference several hours later. Between the three officers, 15 rounds were fired, he said.
The gunman was hit in the head and taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
NYC Councilman Mark Levine said no one else was injured after the gunman began firing “blindly into the air.”
Shia said two guns and a bag containing petrol, rope, knives and other items were recovered at the scene. The number of rounds fired by the suspect is not yet known, he said. Investigators had the suspect’s temporary identity, but were not yet ready to release a name.
Two senior law enforcement officials told News4 investigators that the gunman was believed to have been shot by police. Several witnesses to the shooting say they heard police screaming for him to be shot.
Manhattan Mayor Gale Brewer confirmed the shooting about 30 minutes after the incident. Two of his staff were attending a holiday event at the time of the shooting, Brewer tweeted.
The NYPD has asked the public to avoid the area of West 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.