Giants-Cowboys Matchup Sparks Bizarre Confrontation Between Priest and Kid
Good rule of thumb for adults—don’t point firearms at children.
Potent football rivalries reach across boundaries of age and station—and one may have even prompted threats of violence in a house of worship. That’s one takeaway from the story of Little Ferry, New Jersey priest Kevin Carter, arrested Friday. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has charged Father Carter with “endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm,” reported NBC New York.
Father Carter, apparently a very serious fan of the New York Giants, allegedly approached an 8-year-old parishioner at St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church on September 13 and took the boy aside. Once the priest had the boy alone in a room in the church rectory, witnesses allege he pointed a fully-functioning Civil War-era rifle at the kid.
The boy’s crime? The New York NBC affiliate reported he “planned to root for the Cowboys in a game against the Giants later that day.”
Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told the NBC affiliate that the priest said, “I’m going to shoot you.'”
Father Carter, 54, was in police custody Friday night, held on a $15,000 bond.
The Giants lost the game on Sept. 13. The Cowboys beat them by one point, 27-26.
Sorry, Father Carter, looks like the boy had a point.
Photos by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Sport