North Jersey priest accused of pointing musket at 8-year-old boy for being a Cowboys fan

A North Jersey Roman Catholic priest is accused of pointing a musket at an 8-year-old boy in the church.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli in a statement said Father Kevin Carter, 54, of the St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry asked the boy to come into a rectory room at the church on Sunday, Sept. 13 as they arrived for a service.

Witnesses later told police Carter had the boy stand against the wall, pointed a Civil War-era musket at the boy and threatened to shoot him, the prosecutor said.

Molinelli did not offer a reason as to why Carter pointed the gun, and did not identify the family.

ABC 7 reports the incident appeared was a joke about the Giants-Cowboys game that was played later that day. Carter was disappoointed when the boy said he would be rooting for the Cowboys that night, prosecutors said, according to the report.

Carter was also appointed the chaplain for the Little Ferry Police Dept. in January according to NorthJersey.com.

A parishioner alerted the the Newark Archdiocese about the incident Sept. 25. After an investigation, Carter was interviewed at the church, where gun powder, ammunition and associated items were found, authorities said. He was charged with one count of fourth-degree aggravated assault by pointing a firearm and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Carter is being held on $15,000 bail at the Little Ferry Police Department.

According to Molinelli, Carter has served at the chuch since 2013. He was ordained in 1986 and has served at several churches in North Jersey.