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Bishop Robbed At Gunpoint During Livestreamed Sermon

[Twitter/Screenshot/Public — User: viralnewsnyc]

Nicholas Pope Contributor
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Masked gunmen stormed a New York church Sunday and robbed the bishop of jewelry worth hundreds of thousands of dollars as he delivered his sermon.

The assailants entered the church as Bishop Lamor Whitehead addressed congregants at the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry in Canarsie, a neighborhood in Brooklyn. The gunmen apparently ordered Whitehead to the floor and then proceeded to remove various pieces of jewelry from the bishop and his wife while brandishing firearms, livestream footage posted to Twitter shows. (RELATED: Thief Casually Walks Into Posh San Fran Store And Steals Heap Of Items In Broad Daylight)

The thieves fled with the bishop’s ceremonial and personal jewelry. They also stole jewelry from Whitehead’s wife, the bishop explained in an Instagram video posted after the incident.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) initially estimated that the thieves got away with approximately $400,000 in valuables, according to FOX 5 NY. Other sources suggest that the value of the stolen goods actually amounts to over $1 million, according to the same report.

Whitehead shared that he did not immediately know whether the gunmen had arrived at his church to steal or to commit a mass shooting, he said in the same video. The assailants “had the gun in front of my 8-month-old’s face,” he continued. (RELATED: Violent Daylight Robbery Caught On Camera In Greenwich, Connecticut)

Whitehead’s Instagram account features many videos in which the bishop can be seen sporting luxury clothing and driving a Rolls-Royce. Online commenters noted that the bishop’s outward displays of wealth may have made him a target for such a robbery. “It’s not about me being flashy. It’s my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase,” Whitehead said in the same Instagram video.

The suspects escaped the scene of the robbery in a white Mercedes Benz, according to the FOX 5 NY report. The NYPD investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to Yahoo.