St. Patrick's Cathedral: A man arrested with gas cans and a lighter liquid in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral by the New York Police Department

A man was arrested Wednesday night in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral after allegedly attempting to bring in gas cans and lighters, the New York Police Department said. NYPD deputy commissioner John Miller said the suspect had been arrested by security while he was trying to enter the church, although gasoline was widespread outside the church.

Miller said the suspect had said he wanted to cross the church to get to Madison Avenue and that he had refueled because his car had run out of gas. But the police discovered that it was not true when checking the vehicle.

Miller said that it was "too early" to determine his motive. "It's a place where we always have enhanced security," Miller said.

Miller said that the suspect was already known to the police and that they were investigating his antecedents. His identity has not been published yet.

St. Patrick was open at the time of arrest and it is the holiest week of the year for Catholics.

This arrest comes a few days after a major fire occurred at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. The cause of this fire remains unclear.

Earlier this week, there was a fire at Manhattan's Saint-Jean-le-Divin Cathedral during Palm Sunday services. Smoke invaded the cathedral shortly after 10 am after the basement fire, CBS announced New York.