What to Know
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A man was taken into custody after he tried to walk into St. Patrick's with two gasoline cans, two bottles of lighter fluid and two lighters[hhmc]
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The New Jersey resident said he'd been carrying the items because his car had run out of gas, but there was gas in his car, police said[hhmc]
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The NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism said it was too early to say what the man's motive was[hhmc]
A New Jersey man was taken into custody after he tried to walk into St. Patrick's Cathedral with two gasoline cans, two bottles of lighter fluid and two lighters, police said.
The 37-year-old man from New Jersey, identified by law enforcement sources as Marc Lamparello, parked a minivan on Fifth Avenue around 7:55 p.m. Wednesday, the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said at a press conference.
After walking around the area, Lamparello returned to the minivan, where he pulled out two 2-gallon cans of gasoline, a plastic bag with two bottles of lighter fluid inside, and two extended lighters, Miller said.
Around 7:55pm, a man walked into St. Patricks Cathedral in Manhattan with gas cans and lighter fluid, and was subsequently apprehended by @NYPDCT without incident. We thank our partners for their help, and remember – if you see something, say something. pic.twitter.com/qEbmklnqzQ
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 18, 2019
Lamparello tried to walk into the cathedral with the items, but a security guard stopped him, according to Miller.
Some gasoline spilled out onto the floor of the cathedral as Lamparello was leaving, Miller said.
The guard notified two counterterrorism officers posted outside the cathedral about the incident as Lamparello tried to walk away.
When the guards caught up to the New Jersey resident and started questioning him, he gave them "inconsistent and evasive" answers as to why he'd been carrying the gas cans and other items.
"His basic story was that he was cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue. [He said] his car had run out of gas," Miller said.
When police searched Lamparello's vehicle, however, they discovered it wasn't out of gas. He was taken into custody soon after and hasn't yet been chargedRead More – Source
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