QUEENS, NY – On Thursday, a tense situation unfolded outside the First Presbyterian Church in Queens when a 59-year-old knife-wielding man allegedly stabbed a 40-year-old church security guard in the stomach.
The incident began when a woman noticed the suspect acting erratically with a knife in his hand outside the church’s administrative building.
The injured guard went back inside the building and called 911. When police arrived, the suspect was spotted on an adjacent staircase inside the church.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said the suspect refused to drop the knife and advanced towards the responding officers, who were aware of the stabbing victim. The officers subsequently shot the suspect.
Both the security guard and the suspect were transported to local hospitals in stable condition. Charges are pending against the suspect, who reportedly has no known criminal history but does have a history of mental illness according to reports.