Cops: Bishop Robbed During Live-Stream

High-profile Lamor Whitehead of Brooklyn and wife lost $400K in jewelry, say police
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 25, 2022 6:16 AM CDT
Cops: Brooklyn Bishop Robbed During Service
   (Gety/Manakin)

Those tuning into the live-streamed service of a church in Brooklyn on Sunday got a most unexpected sight. Armed assailants interrupted the sermon of Bishop Lamor Whitehead of the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries church, says the NYPD. The robbers got more than a modest collection plate: Police say they made off with about $400,000 in jewelry worn by Whitehead, his wife, and possibly some churchgoers in attendance, reports the New York Post. In video seen by the Post, Whitehead says "all right, all right" and drops to the floor when the gunmen arrive.

“I didn’t know if they wanted to shoot the church up or if they were just coming for a robbery," Whitehead said in a video posted online afterward, per NBC News. The bishop also defended his expensive taste against critics. “A lot of people are going to say, ‘Why are you so flashy?’ It’s my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase if I work hard for it.” Whitehead is not exactly low-profile: Two months ago, he made headlines for trying to negotiate the surrender of a subway murder suspect, though police made that arrest without his help, notes the Daily News. Police have made no arrests in Sunday's robbery. (More robbery stories.)

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