A man wearing a dark T-shirt and shorts climbed over a fence and smashed a Virgin Mary statue outside St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City using a hammer.
Investigation Underway
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating the destruction of the statue as a possible hate crime. The incident occurred at around 1:42 a.m. on August 1. The Diocese of Brooklyn released surveillance video showing the man violently hitting the statue before knocking it off its pedestal.
This is the fourth reported vandalism incident targeting the parish since 2024. Past acts of vandalism at the parish include the destruction of a 60-year-old stained-glass window and graffiti that defaced a statue of St. Francis of Assisi and the sidewalk.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
