Video shows man wanted in string of NYC church attacks, including Cardinal's private residence
New York City police have identified the man who they believe was behind Friday’s hate crime vandalism at Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s residence on St. Patrick's Cathedral property.
New York City police have identified the man who they believe was behind Friday’s hate crime vandalism at Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s residence on St. Patrick's Cathedral property.
The New York Police Department has identified 28-year-old Juan Velez, a Manhattan resident, as the man who hurled a wrench into Dolan’s residence at the historic Fifth Avenue cathedral just before 12:25 p.m. Friday. Investigators have also linked Velez to two similar hate crime attacks on Manhattan houses of worship, the NYPD said.
The first incident occurred at about 12:25 p.m. Friday at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Dolan and other members of the clergy reside, around the heavily trafficked intersection of East 50th Street and Fifth Avenue, police said.
NYC police have identified 28-year-old Juan Velez as being the suspect behind three attacks on Manhattan houses of worship, including the private residence of Cardinal Dolan. (NYPD)
Police video shows a man wearing a dark-colored vest and pants, a gray shirt, a dark baseball cap and sneakers. He appears to pull something from his pocket, turn around and toss the item toward the building before sauntering away.
He allegedly used a wrench and damaged "an outer glass door that protects an inner door to the residence," police said.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New York told Fox News Digital three people – two staff members and a priest who also live there – were inside the residence at the time, but Dolan was not. The spokesperson said no one was hurt at the time.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan greets armed police officers outside St. Patrick's Cathedral before the St. Patrick's Day Mass on March 17, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Investigators later revealed they suspect Velez is also behind two more incidents, which occurred on Saturday.
In the first incident, the suspect approached All Saints Episcopal Church on East 60th Street around 11 a.m. He allegedly ripped a flag outside the building and damaged the wooden front doors before fleeing.
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Hours later, around 9:50 p.m., he threw "an unknown object" at an outer glass door at an Archdiocese of New York building located on First Avenue, police said. He then allegedly grabbed the item he used and left the area.
A view of St. Patrick's Cathedral on June 29, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Police are investigating the incidents as hate crimes.
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They are asking anyone with information related to the attacks to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
Fox News Digital's Ashley Papa contributed to this report.
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