A man used fire and a sword to attack an Oklahoma Catholic cathedral while school was in session on Wednesday, the school told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Daniel Edwards, carrying a large ice chest, attempted to break into the cathedral of Holy Family Cathedral School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while students were outside taking school pictures, the school told the DCNF. Edwards then threw a flaming object into the side of the building and used a sword to attack the school’s front desk attendant when he confronted Edwards. (RELATED: State Supreme Court Sides With Catholic Church Who Fired Teacher In Same-Sex Marriage)
“During this time, students were on the front steps of the cathedral taking school pictures,” the school told the DCNF. “We express our gratitude and appreciation for the faculty and staff who reacted quickly and immediately moved the students inside the school. The whole school was immediately placed on lockdown and remained so until cleared by local law enforcement.”
Edwards was arrested following the incident, though the school noted that he never approached the school building. The school’s front desk attendant is being treated at a local hospital for the wounds he suffered on his hands from the sword.
A women holds a service booklet during a prayer vigil conducted by Dean, Reverend Dr Gregory Jenks in solidarity with the families and victims of the Christchurch attacks, the vigil was held at the Christ Church Cathedral on March 18, 2019 in Grafton, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Class has been canceled at the school for Thursday and Friday and the cathedral will be holding a mass for the attendant on Friday, the school told the DCNF. Priests, deacons and counselors are being made available for the school community.
“Tulsa Police Department officers responded to a downtown church building around 4 p.m. after a man attacked a building employee with a sword, detonated incendiary devices and attempted to set the building on fire,” Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin wrote in a statement on Twitter. “There were children at the scene, all of whom were unharmed.”
Shortly after attacking the cathedral, Edwards made threats at a local grocery store where the Tulsa Police Department arrested him and brought him to Tulsa County Jail, according to KJHR News. Edwards is expected to be charged for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to do bodily harm and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
Holy Family Cathedral School and Tulsa Police Department did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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