A pastor was robbed at gunpoint by three armed men during his Sunday sermon in Brooklyn, New York. Video footage of the robbery has since been released, showing at least one masked perpetrator holding a gun.
The robbery occurred last Sunday, July 24, at
Bishop Lamor Whitehead of Brooklyn’s Leaders of Tomorrow
International Churches. Whitehead, who goes by Bishop, is known for wearing designer outfits,
extravagant jewellery and living a flashy lifestyle with multiple cars.
The video shows the moment the three men
entered the church, which abruptly halted the preaching and ignited a commotion
in the pews.
Whitehead said he saw the armed men coming
toward him, so he quickly dropped to the floor.
Upon their entrance, Whitehead, who is at the
pulpit, cuts his preaching to address the robbers saying “Alright, alright,
alright,” with hands in the air as he lowers himself to the floor.
What was not captured in the video is the gun
that was pointing toward him and his 8-month-old baby, which the pastor
recounted to WCBS.
The robbers reportedly got away with more than
$1 million in jewellery and personal items from the pastor and his wife.
Whitehead said the
ordeal has left his church, which had about 20 to 25 congregants present,
“traumatized”.
The New York Police
Department informed that the three unidentified gunmen took off on foot before
escaping in a white Mercedes-Benz vehicle, which they were seen in travelling
eastbound on Avenue D.
While the NYPD has started a probe into the incident, Whitehead is offering a rewardof $50,000 for information that would to the arrest of the perpetrators.
In an Instagram post
on Monday, Whitehead uploaded a video demanding justice.
"I want justice,
I want these men arrested. I know somebody knows something and I want to make sure that you all know
that I'm invested into this,” he said.
Whitehead
also said that the security system inside the church would change, as well as
he intends to hire a therapist to speak to the congregants and the children on
how to cope with the incident.
Whitehead, who is known for his extravagant lifestyle, was not pleased with media headlines referring to him as flashy in their reports and he quickly addressed the matter in another video.
"It's not about
me being flashy. It's about me
purchasing what I want to purchase. It's my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase” he said. “If I worked hard for it, I can purchase what I want to
