NYPD Stepping Up Security at City Churches after Minneapolis Church Shooting
The NYPD said that while it has no credible threats, it is stepping up security at churches across the city. St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue already has a permanent police presence.
| 28 Aug 2025 | 08:57
Police stand guard outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a day after a shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis killed two children and wounded 17 people. The NYPD said they were stepping up police presence at houses of worship across the city, but added they had not received any credible threats. (
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A mom, Elisa (center), visiting from Ancona, Italy, sits with her 13-year-old daughter, Ines, and 16-yearold son, Enrico on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Aug. 29. Although several cops were standing less than 100 feet away, Elisa said she had not noticed and they were not particularly worried despite the Minneapolis church shooting. (
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Tom Walker, visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral from East Grand Rapids, Mich., said he is encouraged by the added police presence at houses of worship. But, he said, regrettably the time may have come for all churches and synagogues to consider having armed guards present. (
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Tighter security was evident inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral as visitors have their bags searched. (
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A police cruiser was parked outside the Epiphany Roman Catholic Church on Second Avenue and 22nd Street on the afternoon of Aug. 29 but, at least when our reporter checked, there was no police officer inside or nearby. (
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The police cruiser is parked down the street from historic St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic church on West 30th Street, near Madison Square. The lights were flashing, but no police officer was seen inside or nearby on Aug. 29. (
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The NYPD said it was stepping up security at houses of worship across the city in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis on Aug. 28 that killed two children and wounded 17 others. But police said it was precautionary and that it had not received any credible threats.
“The NYPD is closely following the incident in Minneapolis this morning,” the NYPD said in a statement on Aug. 29. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are deploying additional resources at houses of worship, specifically to churches, to ensure that all New Yorkers stay safe. At this time there is no known threat or nexus to New York City.”
But the statement added: “New Yorkers who witness suspicious activity are encouraged to contact police immediately at 911 or at 1-888-NYC-SAFE.”
A steady stream of visitors streamed into St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Aug. 29 when Straus News stopped by. Bags of visitors were being searched inside as part of stepped-up security, but one of the two police officers next to two mini-cruisers parked on East 50th Street, steps from the side entrance, told us, “We’re always here.”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, in a social media post, expressed profound sadness over the attack that killed an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and wounded at least 17 others. “Once again, we are shocked and horrified by the news of another senseless shooting. . . “ said Dolan. “We mourn the two innocent children whose lives were cut short by this dreadful tragedy and hold in our intentions the 17 wounded.”
He added, “We join in compassionate solidarity with the countless families of the city of Minneapolis, Annunciation Catholic school, and beyond, who have been touched by an unthinkable grief caused by mind-numbing gun violence, which has become all too common.”
The FBI said it is investigating whether the shootings by a transgender 23-year-old, who took his own life, was an anti-Catholic hate crime, although they said they had not determined a particular motive for the killings.
The shooter, Robin Westman, who identified as female, was born Robert but legally changed his name. Rantings and a chilling 20-minute YouTube video left behind by the shooter expressed antisemitic rants and threatened to kill President Trump and Elon Musk. Westman, who barricaded the church doors and opened up on kids celebrating a back-to-school mass shot through stained-glass windows.
Westman’s writings were reportedly rendered almost entirely in Cyrillic and expressed support for violence and an obsession with mass killings. “I have had thoughts about mass murder for a long time,” he reportedly wrote.
But at St. Patrick’s, the flagship of the archdiocese, the shooting, while noted, did not deter visitors.
Tom Walker, a visitor from East Grand Rapids, Mich., was sitting on the steps when Our Town stopped by. “My wife is at Saks and I’m here,” he said.
“I only saw the headlines,” he said, “but it’s another in a long line of gun violence in this country. I know it all doesn’t come down to gun control, but a lot of it does.
He added the additional police presence “doesn’t worry me a bit, it encourages me.
“I didn’t think I’d ever be saying this, but I think all religious institutions have to start thinking about having armed guards.”
Orlando and Andrea, visiting from El Salvador, were busy snapping selfies outside St. Patrick’s. Orlando, when told of the stepped-up NYPD security, said, “I haven’t noticed anything.” And the pair were not worried about visiting after the shooting in a Catholic Church in a far-off city. “It makes no difference,” Orlando said.
Elisa, a mom, was visiting from Ancona, Italy, and sat on the steps only a few yards from where the St. Patrick’s NYPD contingent was standing. Sitting with her were her 16-year-old son, Enrico, and 13-year-old daughter, Ines.
It was their first time in New York City, and Elisa said they had no added worries about visiting the cathedral despite the shooting 1,200 miles away. “It’s beautiful. It’s so wonderful for us to be here.”
“I know it all doesn’t come down to gun control, but a lot of it does.” — Tom Walker, a visitor from Michigan.