Brooklyn bishop robbed of over $1 million in jewelry during livestream service
07/25/2022 4:58 pm PDT
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (TCD) -- A well-known bishop was reportedly robbed of over $1 million in jewelry over the weekend while he was livestreaming his service.
On Sunday, July 24, masked men entered Bishop Lamor Whitehead’s church and allegedly robbed him and his wife. Whitehead took to social media the same day and posted a 37-minute-long video about the alleged robbery.
"When you are a known bishop, it’s a gift and a curse," he said in the video.
Whitehead has over 1 million followers on Instagram and is a member of the clergy at Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
According to Whitehead, he was in the middle of preaching during the morning service when "three to four armed men" walked in and came "specifically for me and my wife." The men allegedly stole all of Whitehead’s jewelry and his wife’s, then fled in a white Mercedes-Benz CLA.
Whitehead said in his video he told his congregants to "get down" on the floor, and he did the same.
He added, "I didn’t know if they wanted to shoot the church up or if they were just coming for a robbery. They were all Black men and they had masks, but I could see their face."
Whitehead reportedly ran after the men and tried to follow them in his car but ended up driving right past them. He saw that the men changed clothing and repeated that in the video.
He said later, "Me and my church and my family, we live to see another day. We only get one life, and I thank God that God spared my life, my wife’s life, my children’s life, my church’s life."
According to NPR, the robbers ran off with over $1 million worth of jewels.
On Monday, July 25, Whitehead said he was offering a $50,000 reward for the arrest of the men that “violated and robbed me and my wife.”
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