NYC cathedral shooter left note detailing plans to take hostages

A law enforcement official said that the cathedral shooter claimed the U.S. committed robbery against the people of Latin America

Renee G

Dec 19, 2020

The gunman who opened fire on the steps of a New York City Cathedral last Sunday before being shot and killed by police had a note in his pocket that stated his intention to take hostages, a law enforcement official said.

As previously reported by theGrio, the gunman, Luis Vasquez, fired into the air as people were leaving a Christmas concert that had just ended outside the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan.

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Witnesses said they heard Vasquez screaming, “Shoot me! Kill me!” as police officers returned fire, killing him,” as reported by ABC News.

cathedral shooting thegrio.com — New York police officers move in on the scene of a shooting at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

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Along with Vasquez’s two semiautomatic handguns, police found a backpack containing five lengths of rope, four lighters, tape, knives, a can of gasoline, and a Bible. In the note, which police found in his pocket, Vasquez complained about the U.S. government’s treatment of Latin America.

According to ABC News, a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Vasquez wrote that the U.S. regime “has committed robbery and more against the people of Latin America.” He wrote that he planned to take hostages, and would not harm them if the U.S. government met his demands to financially assist people in Latin America. Vasquez added in the note that he didn’t expect to make it home.

Due to the contents of the bag, officials are wondering if Vasquez planned on binding the hostages and possibly setting them on fire if his demands weren’t met.

“I think we can all surmise the ill intentions of the proceeds of this bag,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea at a news conference last Sunday.

Vasquez’s sister, Maria Vasquez-Montalvo told The New York Times that after a stint in prison during the 1990s, Vasquez’s mental health had been adversely affected.

“After he came out of jail, he was not the same,” she told the Times. She added that coronavirus-related isolation caused her brother to “lose it,” but she insisted that Vasquez was not a terrorist.

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