#St. John the Divine officials forgive gunman who opened fire

Officials at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine said they forgive the disturbed gunman who opened fire at a Christmas carol performance on the church steps, saying they feel only sympathy.

“I certainly feel I can forgive him,” the Rev. Clifton Daniel, dean of the historic Morningside Heights church, said Tuesday. “Things like this should not happen but I have no anger for him.

“I only have sympathy for his family and I feel for the pain and confusion,” he said.

Luis Vasquez, 52, was shot dead by police after he began firing off two handguns atop the steps of the historic cathedral around 3:45 p.m. Sunday.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Vasquez had been living in the Bronx with his mother before he went off on the caught-on-video rampage.

He fired off several rounds before two police officers and an off-duty cop working security in the area returned fire, striking Vasquez in the head.

No one else was injured in the exchange.

Daniel, 73, said he initially thought the gunshots were fireworks.

“Evil is a reality in the world and the church is not immune to that evil,” he said.

He said that amid the mayhem he came upon a man who had fallen and hit his head in the chaos — and pulled the man to safety with the help of the church security chief.

Keith Hinkson, St. John’s longtime head of security, said his crew began pulling people to safety as Vasquez fired off shots and yelled, “kill me” and “shoot me.”

“It wasn’t a typical stampede,” Hinkson said. “Most people just took cover. Some people went inside the church and my guys went inside to lock the door.”

“I can’t say how I would feel if someone had actually gotten injured or killed,” he said. “But I only feel sympathy for his family”

Vasquez had a criminal record dating to 1990, when he was charged with attempted murder for firing at police and an unidentified woman, records show.

State correction officials said he was released to immigration custody in 1994 after pleading the case down to a weapons possession charge.

He was rearrested in 2007 and again released to immigration authorities.

He was in the US on a travel visa that expired the day of the St. John the Divine incident, sources said.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for details on Vasquez’s case.