A Lehman College professor was arrested for what appears to be an attempted arson on St. Patrick’s Cathedral. News of the arrest came days after the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in France went up in flames.

Authorities arrested Marc Lamparello, 37, a philosophy professor who taught online courses for the school in Bedford Park. He was charged with  resisting arrest, trespass and disorderly conduct.

John Miller, the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Counter-Terrorism, said cathedral police spotted Lamparello walking inside the landmark church with two gasoline cans and butane lighters.

Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and @NYPDCT John Miller provides a preliminary update regarding tonight’s incident at St. Patrick’s Catherdal in #Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/SO2MwbSBIB

— Chief Terence Monahan (@NYPDChiefofDept) April 18, 2019

“[H]e’s confronted by a cathedral security officer who asked him where he’s going; informs him he can’t proceed in the cathedral carrying these things. At that point some gasoline has spilled out on the floor as he’s turned around. The St. Patrick’s employee notifies two CRC, critical response command, from the counter-terrorism bureau. Police officers from our striker team, who are outside, the individual went southbound on Fifth Avenue onto 50^th Street,” said Miller. “They catch up to the individual, who’s carrying the gas cans and begin to question him. His answers were inconsistent and evasive, although he remained conversational with him and cooperative. His basic story was that was cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue; that his car had run out of gas. He took a look at the vehicle, it was not out of gas. At that point he was brought into custody and brought to the Midtown North stationhouse.”

In a statement issued, Lehman College spokeswoman Sarah Ramsey said Lamparello was a recent part-time hire, teaching online classes. “We are taking steps to terminate the individual’s employment,” said Ramsey in the statement.

Lamparello is reported to be known by police.

Mayor Bill de Blasio weighed in on the incident, telling reporters it’s a “profound troubling incident.

We’ll look at every angle. I think this was a very particular, individual act, but it is a reminder that we’re going to do everything we have to do to protect St. Patrick’s,” said de Blasio.

Students enrolled at the school were shocked.

“As I was walking out of the computer lab I overhead people talking about it and they said it was actually a professor from Lehman College. It makes me nervous to think that we have someone so close to home that could possibly harm us, because if you could go to a big Cathedral with all that gas tanks you could easily come to Lehman which is easily accessible to walk around freely. It is nerve-wracking” said Sharline Parker, a Lehman College student.

Hardik Yadaw, another student, sought to reserve some judgement.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I don’t know what he was doing there, but understanding that this happened right after the fire in Notre Dame it does make it look sketchy. He should be made to answer what he was doing there” said, Yadaw.

admin

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.