Vandal Deliberately Decapitates Child Jesus Statue
Police in New York City are actively seeking a taxi-driving suspect captured on surveillance footage early Sunday morning, vandalizing a statue of the Holy Family and decapitating a statue of Jesus outside a Roman Catholic church.
According to WABC, the incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Flushing, Queens. The vandal, who exited a vehicle across the street, proceeded to attack the figures of the Holy Family with a shoe. Father Sean Suckiel, the parish pastor, described the disturbing scene captured on camera.
“He then approached the statue, striking the face of St. Joseph, followed by the Blessed Mother, and ultimately the face of the child Jesus,” Suckiel recounted.
The vandal successfully decapitated the statue of Jesus, leaving its head on the ground nearby. However, attempts to damage the statues of Joseph and Mary were unsuccessful and left them undamaged.
NBC4 reported that the New York Police Department (NYPD) received a report detailing the intentional damage inflicted on the 40-year-old statue. The Brooklyn Diocese has classified the decapitation as a hate crime and estimated the damage to be around $20,000. Suckiel expressed deep sadness over the vandalism and emphasized the need for forgiveness.
“My heart was shattered,” he told WABC. “And I ask myself, why? Why did this person do this? The statue wasn’t in his way. It was a deliberate act, so the question remains: why?”
“We pray for the individual responsible, and while seeking justice, we also recognize that he must not have been in a sound state of mind,” Suckiel added, highlighting the importance of forgiveness.
This incident follows recent tensions involving places of worship in the city, including the arrest of a 16-year-old with a criminal history in connection with an assault at St. Demetrios’ Greek Orthodox Church. A report by the Family Research Council indicates a rise in hostility toward churches across the United States, noting 436 incidents in 2023, a significant increase from previous years.
Investigations into the vandalism at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church are ongoing as authorities work to apprehend the perpetrator and understand the motives behind the attack.