CRIME, POLICE + COURTS
UPDATE: Suspect arraigned for reckless endangerment after gunshots fired at Hill Cumorah Visitors’ Center
Jun 8, 2022, 9:06 PM | Updated: Jun 9, 2022, 12:24 pm
Hill Cumorah, New York. Photo: Mary Richards
Update: 10:33 a.m. June 9
New York police report that the suspect in custody related to gunshots heard Wednesday night at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center is 23-year-old Michael R. Bushart of Fairport, New York.
Bushart is under arrest for the class D felony of reckless endangerment. Police said Bushart was target shooting from farmland described as “west of Hill Cumorah.” A search of the area reportedly found a number of long guns, which have been seized.
The suspect was arraigned on Thursday morning and later released after being placed on pretrial supervision.
Our previous coverage:
Update 7:12 a.m. June 9
New York police said they have a suspect in custody related to gunshots heard Wednesday night at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but they don’t think that person had any “ill intent.”
An officer told the Rochester First that the person didn’t appear to be intentionally firing at the building while in the treeline near the site.
The Finger Lakes Times reported several shots did hit the building at a time when about 80 people were there.
A spokesperson for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement that no injuries were reported.
Our previous coverage:
PALMYRA, New York — Police in New York responded Wednesday afternoon to reports of gunfire at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Church spokesman Eric Hawkins issued a state Wednesday evening.
“This afternoon, several shots were fired at or near the Hill Cumorah Visitors’ Center in Palmyra, New York. Gratefully, no injuries have been reported. At this hour, there is little information available. Inquiries about details should be directed to local law enforcement.”
According to the Finger Lakes Times, a newspaper in the area, roughly 80 visitors were inside the building at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported. The newspaper also reports more than 22 shots were fired at the building with at least two hitting the building.
The paper also reports police have launched a massive search for the shooter.
More information on this story as it becomes available.
Bonneville International Corporation, the company that owns KSL NewsRadio, is a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Read more:
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to preserve Hill Cumorah site, For the Strength of Youth conferences back
- Hill Cumorah Pageant final season canceled; Nauvoo Pageant postponed
