Police said they received a report that three people entered the Leaders of Tomorrow church on Sunday with firearms and removed jewelry that Pastor Lamor Miller-Whitehead, who is called Bishop, and his wife were wearing. . Police noted that the investigation was “ongoing”.
“Okay, okay, okay,” Whitehead says in the video, raising his hands and lowering himself to the ground.
The video is no longer available on the church’s livestream, but Whitehead told WCBS what happened.
“That – ‘alright, alright, alright’ – is like saying I don’t want to, I’m not going to do anything, alright, because I know you’re all coming for me, y’all come straight to me. I don’t want my parishioners to be hurt,” he said.
“I had wives and children there. On the way down, one of them went up to my wife and took all her jewelry, and put the gun in front of my 8 month old baby’s face “, he continued.
“I took off my bishop’s ring, my wedding band and took off my bishop’s chain, then I had chains under my robe, and he started patting my neck to see if there was anything else – – so that means they knew, they looked and they knew I had other jewelry,” he said.
Whitehead said there were also gunmen with guns raised against deacons at the door. There were about 20 to 25 worshipers present, police said.
“My church is traumatized,” Whitehead said.
The NYPD said it received a report that the suspects took more than $1 million worth of jewelry and then fled the scene on foot. They reportedly entered a white Mercedes-Benz vehicle and were seen heading east on Avenue D, police said.
Pastor highlights ties to Mayor Eric Adams
According to his biography, Whitehead attended New York Theological Seminary and graduated with a Certificate in Social Services Ministry from Theological Institution of Rising Hope Inc. It lists him as a New York State Licensed Chaplain and a certified wedding and funeral officiant. .
His church biography also says he was “adopted as a mentee” by Eric Adams, the former borough president of Brooklyn and current mayor of New York City.
“No one in this city should be the victim of armed robbery, let alone our religious leaders and our congregants who worship in a House of God,” Adams said in a statement. “The NYPD is investigating this crime and will work tirelessly to bring the criminals involved to justice.”
Whitehead encouraged those responsible to turn themselves in to police.
“I forgive you and I pray for you, you know, and I hope that God will deliver you from the state of mind of who you are right now,” he said.
Whitehead and his church did not respond to calls for comment.
“It’s not about being flashy. It’s about buying what I want to buy,” he said. “It’s my prerogative to buy what I want to buy. If I’ve worked hard for it, I can buy what I want to buy.”
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that police received a report on the incident.
CNN’s Eric Levenson and Liam Reilly contributed to this report.