File Under: WTF?
BY Laurie Hanna
A New Jersey priest has been arrested over claims he pointed a musket at an 8-year-old boy because of a football rivalry.
Father Kevin Carter allegedly threatened the child because he was planning to root for the Dallas Cowboys instead of his beloved New York Giants.
The 54-year-old priest of St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry was arrested Friday on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm, say authorities.
The priest allegedly approached the boy before Mass services at the church on Sunday, Sept. 13, and asked to see him in one of the rectory rooms, reported NBC 4 New York.
Prosecutors said the priest allegedly pointed the Civil War-style musket at the boy as he stood against the wall.
“As he raised his weapon and pointed it at the boy, he said, ‘I’m going to shoot you’,” Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said.
A search of the room turned up the weapon that was allegedly used as well as gunpowder, ammunition and other associated items for the gun, authorities said.
“The young boy was apparently a fan of a particular football team, the priest was not. So perhaps we have indication it started out as that,” said Molinelli.
“There’s no such thing as joking around with a weapon when you’re dealing with an 8-year-old kid,” he added.
Big Blue lost to the Cowboys 27-26 later that Sunday afternoon.
A parishioner who witnessed the incident contacted Newark Archdiocese officials on Sept. 25, and the Archdiocese in turn contacted the prosecutor’s office on Sept. 28.
The prosecutor’s office began investigating along with Little Ferry police and interviewed the priest at the rectory on Friday.
The priest was jailed on $15,000 bail and was still in custody at Little Ferry Police headquarters Friday night.
The Archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Carter was ordained in Newark in November 1986 and has been at St. Margaret of Cortona since February 2013.
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