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Catholic parishioners in New York City are devastated after an unknown vandal recently beheaded a statue of Jesus in a fit of rage.
The incident took place at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in the Queens neighborhood of Fresh Meadows on Sunday. The New York Police Department (NYPD) told Fox News Digital that the act took place shortly before 5:30 a.m.
“[A]n unknown individual intentionally damaged a statue by hitting it repeatedly with their shoe, outside of a church located at 175-20 74 Avenue,” the police spokesperson said. “No injuries were reported as a result of this incident.”
The destroyed statue depicted Jesus as a child, surrounded by Mary and Joseph. Blurry footage shows a suspect repeatedly hitting the statue’s head with a shoe before walking away.
The Diocese of Brooklyn estimated that the damage inflicted on the statue will cost $20,000 to fix, according to FOX 5 New York. In a Facebook post, the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church said that the statue stood outside its doors for over 42 years.
“The parishioners are devastated, and shocked over this,” the post read.
The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is currently investigating the incident as a potential hate crime, and has not arrested any suspects yet. In a statement obtained by FOX 5, the church’s pastor Fr. Sean Suckiel called the incident “unsettling.”
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“The Holy Family is the foundation of our faith community, and this statue holds special meaning to so many in our parish,” the priest said. “This is a very unsettling incident, and those who attended Mass yesterday were shocked and horrified to find out this happened.”
“We must pray for an increase in religious tolerance throughout our city.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church and the Diocese of Brooklyn for comment, but has not heard back.
New York authorities are actively investigating the incident, and no additional details are available at this time.