Shooting outside Cathedral of St. John the Divine

A Bible-toting man with a gun in each hand opened fire at a Christmas show on the front steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Harlem on Sunday before being fatally shot in the head by cops, police said.

Terrified onlookers raced for cover — with security guards quickly ushering some event attendees into the church and closing its large doors behind them, while others cowered behind cars — as the screaming gunman, 52, fired into the air from the top step of the famous church at West 112st Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

“He started shouting, ‘Kill me! Kill me!’ and shooting at the big metal door in the center [of the church],” a witness told The Post of the 3:45 p.m. mayhem.

Judy Romer, a neighborhood resident, said, “At first, I thought it was either the end of the performance, like they made a loud noise [to close the event], or a tire that blew.

“But it continued — the shooting — over and over.”

“It seemed like he was shooting for about a minute,” she said of the suspect. “Such a brazen act, taking advantage of such a peaceful audience.”

One of the witnesses who called 911, Caroline Murphy, said people fled down Amsterdam Avenue after shots rang out. 

“I started hearing loud booming shots and the blocks had been closed to traffic,” Murphy said. “I just kept hearing shots and I called the 911 dispatcher. The shooting continued, but you didn’t hear screaming.”

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a press briefing at the scene that the gunman had a “lengthy criminal history’’ and was  armed to the teeth, with “a full can of gasoline, rope, wire, multiple knives, a Bible and tape’’ in his backpack, in addition to the two guns he had. Both handguns were recovered at the scene, police said.

A concert featuring holiday carolers on the steps of the church had just finished when the shooter — eerily dressed in a black jacket and pants while wearing the red-strapped backpack, white baseball hat and red, white and blue COVID-19 face mask — showed up, according to witnesses and a photo.

“People were invited into the church, and that’s when he sort of appeared,’’ Shea said.

The witness who heard the man shout, “Kill me!’’ said, “Security, they brought [people] all inside when he was firing and shut the door.”

The gunman had a silver handgun in his right hand and a black one in his left.

Police received about a dozen 911 calls from the scene saying shots were fired, and officers outside the church saw the gunman blasting his weapons, an NYPD rep told The Post.

“He was shooting it up in the air and toward police,” a high-ranking department source said of the suspect.

Romer said police repeatedly ordered the gunman to put his weapons down but he kept asking the officers to shoot and kill him.

An NYPD sergeant and detective from the 26th Precinct, along with a police sergeant working security for the church, were the ones who opened fire on the man, law enforcement sources said.

“You’ve seen three officers acting heroic: a sergeant, detective and police officer and engaging an armed perpetrator, putting themselves in harm’s way to pull people that have literally hiding behind these poles behind me caught in the crossfire,’’ Shea said.

“So it is by the grace of God today that we don’t have anyone struck.”

As the gunman lay mortally wounded on the top steps of the church, a mass of cops with their weapons drawn approached him, yelling, “Don’t move! Don’t move!’’

The suspect was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital and pronounced dead, sources said.

The shooting occurred at a scheduled free Christmas carol performance on the steps of the historic church by the cathedral choir.

The performance was the cathedral’s first public event since the coronavirus pandemic hit the Big Apple.

The church said on Twitter, “Our Carols for the Community event this afternoon was interrupted by an armed individual, who set off a round of gunfire into the air from our front steps.

“Thankfully, no injuries were reported among the attendees and the suspect is in custody.

“It is horrible that our choir’s gift to New York City, a much-needed afternoon of song and unity, was cut short by this shocking act of violence.”

— Additional reporting by Joe Marino, Kevin Sheehan and Elizabeth Rosner