Pictured: Man Who Was Caught Entering Cathedral With Gas Cans 2 Days After Notre Dame Fire

Published: 4/18/2019, 7:16:19 AM EDT

A man who was caught entering a historic cathedral in New York City with two gas cans on April 17, two days after a massive blaze consumed some of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, was identified as a college student.

The suspect was identified as Marc Lamparello, 37, by the New York Post.

Lamparello is a City University of New York student seeking his doctorate in philosophy, a police source said. He's worked before as an adjunct lecturer at Lehman College.

He has two prior arrests for criminal trespass and public drunkenness.

According to a church bulletin (pdf), Lamparello was the music director at St. Joseph's Church in East Rutherford, New Jersey, through at least 2013.

He has authored at least one book—"Reason and Counterpoint"—being published in 2014. According to the author bio, Lamparello, a native of New Jersey, studied philosophy at Boston College, graduating in 2004.

"Marc has been heavily engaged in the study of philosophy from an early age, and is currently working on two other book-length projects, including a witty dialogue on arguments for and against the existence of God, and a series of essays on the epistemology of practical motivation," it stated.

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According to CNN reporter Lauren del Valle, Lamparello was described by officials as "emotionally disturbed."

Gas Cans

The man walked into the St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan around 7:55 p.m., according to the New York Police Department.

He was carrying gas cans and lighter fluid as well as two lighters, police said. The suspect was apprehended by police officers without incident.

Police shared a picture showing two gas cans, two bottles of lighter fluid, and two lighters, one blue and one red.

The man pulled up in a minivan on Fifth Avenue and walked around for some time before returning to the vehicle and grabbing the gas, lighter fluid, and lighters and walking into the cathedral, according to John Miller, NYPD's deputy commissioner of intelligence.

"As he enters the cathedral he is confronted by a cathedral security officer who asks him where he's going, informs him he can't proceed into the cathedral carrying these things. At this point some gasoline is spilled onto the floor as he turns around," Miller said at a press conference.

The officer alerted two nearby police officers and they caught up with the man.

"His answers were inconsistent and evasive although he remained conversational and cooperative. His basic idea was that he was cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue and his car was out of gas. We looked at the car and it was not out of gas. At that point, he was taken into custody," Miller said.

“I think the totality of circumstances of [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 that we would have great concern over,” Miller said later at the press conference.

Noting that the incident came so soon after the Notre Dame cathedral burst into flames, Miller said it was "very suspicious."

St. Patrick's Cathedral was built in 1878.

According to WABC, the cathedral was recently outfitted with a sprinkler-like system during renovations. Its wooden roof is coated with fire retardant.