Multiple gunshots were fired Wednesday evening “at or near” the Hill Cumorah Visitors’ Center in western New York, according to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Gratefully, no injuries have been reported,” Eric Hawkins, a spokesperson for the Utah-based faith, stated in a news release.
Law enforcement said the shooting was not intentional, WHEC television in Rochester reported late Wednesday night. The station said one person was in custody.
On Thursday, WHEC reported that a 23-year-old man had been arrested and arraigned on suspicion of reckless endangerment. New York State Police said he had been target shooting on farmland near the center, the station noted, and that a bullet had struck a nearby apartment window.
Earlier, on Wednesday night, Ontario County sheriff’s personnel said that more than 22 shots were fired from trees near the visitors’ center, the Finger Lakes Times reported, and that at least two had hit the building.
Some 80 visitors were inside the center, located in Manchester, N.Y., and were evacuated.
Law enforcement launched a massive search, the newspaper reported.
In the cradle of Mormonism, the Hill Cumorah is where church founder Joseph Smith said he unearthed gold plates that contained ancient writings that would give rise to the faith’s signature scripture, the Book of Mormon.
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