A man has been arrested after walking into St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York with two full gasoline cans, lighter fluid and lighters, police said.
The 37-year-old entered the Catholic cathedral in Midtown Manhattan just before 8pm local time (00.00 GMT) and was confronted by a security guard, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) official said.
As the man turned to leave, gasoline spilled onto the floor and the guard informed police who were outside.
He was taken into custody after questioning, John Miller, deputy commissioner of intelligence and counter terrorism for the NYPD said.
"An individual walking into an iconic location like St. Patrick's Cathedral carrying over four gallons of gasoline, two bottles of lighter fluid and lighters, is something we would have grave concern over," Mr Miller told reporters outside the cathedral.
The arrested man has been identified in reports as Marc Lamparello who according to heavy.com is a philosophy professor.
This incident comes just days after the fire in Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral.
Hero priest who saved Notre Dame's priceless art 'did what I had to do'
The man told police he was cutting through the cathedral and said his mini van had run out of gasoline, Mr Miller said.
But when police checked the vehicle they found it was not out of fuel, at which point he was arrested.
Mr Miller added: "He is known to police and we are looking into his background.
"We don't know what his mindset was, what his motive was."
Asked if "terrorism" was a motive in the incident, Mr Miller said it was "too early to say that."
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: "Thank you to NYPDnews for the swift response.
"We are all focused on keeping our congregations and houses of worship safe as they celebrate this Holy Week."
The official Twitter account for the NYPD tweeted: "Around 7:55pm, a man walked into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan with gas cans and lighter fluid, and was subsequently apprehended by NYPDCT without incident.
"We thank our partners for their help, and remember - if you see something, say something."
No one is believed to have been injured in the incident and no damage was done to the cathedral, reports say.
