.jpg){kind=logo}
PERMISSION IS GIVEN BY JIM WAGNER TO COPY & DISTRIBUTE THIS REPORT FOR NON COMMERCIAL USE ONLY
LEADERS OF THE TOMORROW CHURCH ARMED ROBBERY
BASED ON OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE (OSINT) AS OF July 29, 2022 A.D. • COMPILED & ANALYZED BY JIM WAGNER
DATE & TIME: July 24, 2022, at 11:15 a.m.
LOCATION: Leaders of the Tomorrow Church (https://lotichurches.org) in Brooklyn, New York. TYPE OF ATTACK: Armed robbery of the pastor and his wife during a church service.
SUSPECT: Three unidentified suspects wearing black masks and similar clothes.
MOTIVE: Theft. WEAPONS USED: Handguns.
DAMAGE & INJURY: No injuries, and the robbers got away with more than $1 million in jewelry and personal items taken only from the pastor and his wife. SITUATION: Three masked suspects pulled up in a vehicle in front of the church (caught on video surveillance) and entered the sanctuary while Pastor Lamor Miller-Whitehead was giving his sermon about “keeping faith in the face of grave adversity.” RED ACTION: A gunman moved toward Bishop Miller-Whitehead, pointing a gun at him. Bishop Miller-Whitehead raised his hands in a surrender position and responded, “Alright, alright, alright,” and he got down on the ground in a prone position. At one point another gunman pointed his pistol at his 8-month old daughter, who was held by his wife, as he took jewelry from her. Since the service was being live-streamed the robbery was recorded:
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/07/28/video-shows-new-york-pastor-being-robbed-at-gunpoint
The robbers knew that Pastor Miller-Whitehead wears expensive jewelry and took it from him, and from his wife, by threat of being shot.
Two gunmen pointed their pistols at some deacons who were next to the door.
BLUE ACTION: There was no indication of any church security at the time of the incident.
The following day Mayor Eric Adams (a mentor of Bishop Miller-Whitehead) released a public statement, “No one in this city should be the victim of armed robbery, let alone our faith leaders and congregants worshiping in a House of God. The NYPD is investigating this crime and will work tirelessly to bring the criminals involved to justice."
Bishop Miller-Whitehead is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone who can help police arrest the robbers.
JIM WAGNER’S COMMENTARY: Bishop Miller-Whitehead is known for wearing designer outfits, expensive jewelry, and driving around New York City in his Rolls Royce, which the robbers obviously knew about.
After the robbery some media headlines referred to Bishop Miller-Whitehead as “flashy,” and he publicly defended his extravagant displays of wealth by stating, "It's not about me being ‘flashy.’ It's about me purchasing what I want to purchase. It's my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase. If I worked hard for it, I can purchase what I want to purchase."Yes, Bishop Miller-Whitehead has a right to own nice things. However, one must also face reality to stay safe. Anyone who flaunts his or her wealth is always going to be a target; a potential target of robbery, kidnapping, or worse. There are evil people in this world who may take things they want from others if given the opportunity. Jesus addressed this very issue by saying, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 Many rich people who publicly display their wealth, or they are well-known for their wealth, have private security protecting them. They take some of their wealth and pay for protection. Bishop Miller-Whitehead did not seem to have any bodyguards, or if he did at the time of the incident none of them acted.
Of course, on the spiritual side of this incident, a pastor of a church displaying his wealth is not wise for a few reasons:
1. It only confirms to an already skeptical world about God that many church leaders are enriching themselves.
2. Why should congregants tithe to a church where they believe the majority of the money is only going to the leaders or into ornate buildings?
3. It can draw the criminal element to the church, like it did at the Leaders of the Tomorrow Church.
On the positive side, Bishop Miller-Whitehead directed the gunmen towards himself, in order to protect the 20 to 25 congregants. He told them, “I'm not going to do anything, right, 'cause I know y'all coming for me, y'all coming straight to me. I don't want my parishioners hurt."
In this situation, where there are three gunmen working as a coordinated team, and there is not armed security to stop them, surrendering and hoping nobody will get shot is the best option. Most armed robberies do end peaceably, as long as the thief or thieves get what they want. Of course, when it comes to armed suspects one never knows if they will be peaceful or not.
Had armed men like that entered my church, for example, there most likely would have been a firefight. That’s because the armed security team would not have known if it was the start of an active shooter situation or an armed robbery. However, our parking lot and ushers train to look for suspicious items and people, and they would have got on the radio and warned agents inside of suspicious men heading to the sanctuary entrance. Plus, there is at least one armed undercover security guard outside observing people the surroundings. The gunmen, who moved from their vehicle and toward the Leaders of the Tomorrow Church, were very suspicious as indicated in the surveillance video.
Although some people will say, “This church had it coming to them,” the point is that armed men went into a church, in broad daylight, to commit a crime. This kind of brazen lawlessness is a cancer spreading throughout our God-rejecting society. As such, every church must be well-trained and prepared for a wide variety of threats. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. Nehemiah 4:17-18
LOCATION: Leaders of the Tomorrow Church (https://lotichurches.org) in Brooklyn, New York. TYPE OF ATTACK: Armed robbery of the pastor and his wife during a church service.
SUSPECT: Three unidentified suspects wearing black masks and similar clothes.
MOTIVE: Theft. WEAPONS USED: Handguns.
DAMAGE & INJURY: No injuries, and the robbers got away with more than $1 million in jewelry and personal items taken only from the pastor and his wife. SITUATION: Three masked suspects pulled up in a vehicle in front of the church (caught on video surveillance) and entered the sanctuary while Pastor Lamor Miller-Whitehead was giving his sermon about “keeping faith in the face of grave adversity.” RED ACTION: A gunman moved toward Bishop Miller-Whitehead, pointing a gun at him. Bishop Miller-Whitehead raised his hands in a surrender position and responded, “Alright, alright, alright,” and he got down on the ground in a prone position. At one point another gunman pointed his pistol at his 8-month old daughter, who was held by his wife, as he took jewelry from her. Since the service was being live-streamed the robbery was recorded:
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/07/28/video-shows-new-york-pastor-being-robbed-at-gunpoint
The robbers knew that Pastor Miller-Whitehead wears expensive jewelry and took it from him, and from his wife, by threat of being shot.
Two gunmen pointed their pistols at some deacons who were next to the door.
BLUE ACTION: There was no indication of any church security at the time of the incident.
The following day Mayor Eric Adams (a mentor of Bishop Miller-Whitehead) released a public statement, “No one in this city should be the victim of armed robbery, let alone our faith leaders and congregants worshiping in a House of God. The NYPD is investigating this crime and will work tirelessly to bring the criminals involved to justice."
Bishop Miller-Whitehead is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone who can help police arrest the robbers.
JIM WAGNER’S COMMENTARY: Bishop Miller-Whitehead is known for wearing designer outfits, expensive jewelry, and driving around New York City in his Rolls Royce, which the robbers obviously knew about.
After the robbery some media headlines referred to Bishop Miller-Whitehead as “flashy,” and he publicly defended his extravagant displays of wealth by stating, "It's not about me being ‘flashy.’ It's about me purchasing what I want to purchase. It's my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase. If I worked hard for it, I can purchase what I want to purchase."Yes, Bishop Miller-Whitehead has a right to own nice things. However, one must also face reality to stay safe. Anyone who flaunts his or her wealth is always going to be a target; a potential target of robbery, kidnapping, or worse. There are evil people in this world who may take things they want from others if given the opportunity. Jesus addressed this very issue by saying, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 Many rich people who publicly display their wealth, or they are well-known for their wealth, have private security protecting them. They take some of their wealth and pay for protection. Bishop Miller-Whitehead did not seem to have any bodyguards, or if he did at the time of the incident none of them acted.
Of course, on the spiritual side of this incident, a pastor of a church displaying his wealth is not wise for a few reasons:
1. It only confirms to an already skeptical world about God that many church leaders are enriching themselves.
2. Why should congregants tithe to a church where they believe the majority of the money is only going to the leaders or into ornate buildings?
3. It can draw the criminal element to the church, like it did at the Leaders of the Tomorrow Church.
On the positive side, Bishop Miller-Whitehead directed the gunmen towards himself, in order to protect the 20 to 25 congregants. He told them, “I'm not going to do anything, right, 'cause I know y'all coming for me, y'all coming straight to me. I don't want my parishioners hurt."
In this situation, where there are three gunmen working as a coordinated team, and there is not armed security to stop them, surrendering and hoping nobody will get shot is the best option. Most armed robberies do end peaceably, as long as the thief or thieves get what they want. Of course, when it comes to armed suspects one never knows if they will be peaceful or not.
Had armed men like that entered my church, for example, there most likely would have been a firefight. That’s because the armed security team would not have known if it was the start of an active shooter situation or an armed robbery. However, our parking lot and ushers train to look for suspicious items and people, and they would have got on the radio and warned agents inside of suspicious men heading to the sanctuary entrance. Plus, there is at least one armed undercover security guard outside observing people the surroundings. The gunmen, who moved from their vehicle and toward the Leaders of the Tomorrow Church, were very suspicious as indicated in the surveillance video.
Although some people will say, “This church had it coming to them,” the point is that armed men went into a church, in broad daylight, to commit a crime. This kind of brazen lawlessness is a cancer spreading throughout our God-rejecting society. As such, every church must be well-trained and prepared for a wide variety of threats. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. Nehemiah 4:17-18