Incident Summary:
12/13/2020: An assailant armed with two semiautomatic handguns opened fire as people were leaving a Christmas choral concert outside the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. The assailant was killed by police officers. There were no other casualties. In addition to the assailant's weapons, the police also recovered a backpack containing several lengths of rope, wire, lighters, tape, knives, a gasoline can, a Bible, and a note saying that he intended to take hostages. No group claimed responsibility for the incident; however, Luis Vasquez, an unaffiliated individual, claimed responsibility for the incident and stated that the attack was carried out in retaliation for the alleged treatment of Latin America. In reference to US banks and corporations, Vasquez stated "we need to seize their wealth and return it to the people of Latin America."
Overview
GTD ID:
202012130044
When:
2020-12-13
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
New York
City:
New York City
Location Details:
The incident occurred in Manhattan.
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
| Successful Attack? () |
No |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Religious Figures/Institutions |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine |
| Specific Description |
Church |
| Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Handgun |
| Incendiary |
Gasoline or Alcohol |
| Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Two semiautomatic pistols, a can of gasoline, knives, ropes, wire, and duct tape were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | Yes |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Anti-globalization extremists |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Note left at scene) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
| Total Number of Injured |
0 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| "A gunman is dead after a shooting at a New York City cathedral Christmas concert," CNN Wire, December 13, 2020. |
| "Church-shoot guy riled over Latin America," Daily News (New York), December 16, 2020. |
| "NYC cathedral gunman's note says he planned to take hostages," Dayton Daily News, December 16, 2020. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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