QUEENS, N.Y. – Police are searching for a suspect accused of targeting three churches in Far Rockaway with anti-Christian graffiti in a string of hate crimes earlier this month.
Authorities said all three incidents occurred in the early morning hours of October 5 within minutes of each other.
Each church was spray-painted with anti-Christian messages on its front facade, and in one case, religious statues were also defaced.
Key Points
- Three Queens churches were vandalized with anti-Christian graffiti on October 5.
- The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incidents as hate crimes.
- Police are asking for help identifying the suspect captured in surveillance images.
Three churches hit within 20 minutes
According to police, the first act of vandalism happened around 1:40 a.m. at The Refuge Church of Christ on Mott Avenue, where anti-Christian statements were painted across the building’s exterior.
Just four minutes later, similar graffiti appeared on the front of The City of Oasis Church of Deliverance, located less than a block away. Investigators said both incidents bore consistent markings and style.
At approximately 2:00 a.m., the same suspect is believed to have struck St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church on New Haven Avenue, where not only the facade but also the faces of two religious statues were spray-painted.
Hate Crime Task Force leading investigation
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is spearheading the investigation and reviewing video surveillance that captured images of the suspect in the area during the time of the incidents. Detectives are working to determine whether the same individual is connected to other acts of vandalism reported in nearby neighborhoods.
Anyone with information or who recognizes the suspect is urged to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.