Police said one man carried out a vandalism spree targeting religious buildings in midtown. NBC New York’s Gilma Avalos reports.
The man who police say was caught on camera smashing an outer glass door at Cardinal Timothy Dolan's residence behind St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan is allegedly also responsible for vandalism at two other midtown religious buildings.
Juan Velez is the man behind a vandalism spree targeting the religious buildings, according to police. The first incident occurred sometime Friday afternoon at Dolan's home, when the 28-year-old Velez was allegedly seen on camera throwing a wrench through the glass door.
There were three people inside at the time, a priest and two other workers, the archdiocese said. No one was hurt in the incident. Dolan was not at the home then, but said the incident rattled him.
"You have to wonder if you’re not safe in your own home where are you secure," he said.
Police said that Velez's next stop was less than half a day later, at the All Saints Episcopal Church on East 60th Street, between Second and Third avenues. Just after 11 a.m., Velez ripped a flag outside the church and damaged the wooden front doors, according to police. It occurred directly across the street from the popular restaurant Serendipity, which typically has lines out the door.
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About 11 hours after that, Velez targeted the Archdiocese of New York's building a few blocks away on First Avenue, near East 56th Street, police said. Just like in the vandalism at Dolan's resident, Velez allegedly threw an object at an outer glass door, damaging it.
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After his home was attacked, Dolan admitted that it gives him something in common with many other New Yorkers.
"In a way, I thought it might be good for me to connect better to people of this city. So many worried about future of city, don’t feel safe on the subway in streets," he said. "So many are worried about the future of our city."
An investigation is ongoing.
