NYPD: Church Statue Shattered In Brooklyn By Men Taking Selfies
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are looking for two men who they said shattered a church statue while taking a selfie in Brooklyn.
It happened just before midnight Saturday at the Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church on Metropolitan Avenue and was caught on surveillance video.
Police said the men were seen crowding around a group of four religious statues, CBS2's Magdalena Doris reported.
Officials say they believe the men were intoxicated at the time.
The video shows them apparently posing for pictures on the platform in between the statues. That's when one of them tries to climb onto the platform, but loses his balance, causing a statue of an angel to fall to the ground and shatter, police said.
This church community has suffered a similar loss before. In February, police caught a man who they said was seen on video intentionally knocking over an angel statue.
"I'd try to tell them this is our spiritual place, we want to serve other people and if he can, leave us alone," Pastor Wlodzimirez Las said at the time.
For Marianna, a parishioner for 52 years, the tribute to the Blessed Mother is sacred. She can't understand repeated acts to destroy something beautiful.
"This is the fifth time, I think, fifth time," she said. "Last time I cried so hard. This time, when I see the camera, when I see what the people are doing, it's just sick -- sick in the mind."
Investigators said they are looking for two of the men seen on the video. Boyce said the church is near a busy area with a lot of bars, WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron reported.
The pastor says he noticed the smashed statue and later told police he saw six men three blocks away, though he wasn't sure if they were the same men seen on the video, Doris reported.
One parishioner thinks that once they're caught, the suspects should be forced to pay for a new statue so they know how much it costs.
Police do not believe the incident in February is related to this recent case.
Detectives are also not classifying it as a hate crime.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
