NEW YORK — A masked man wielding a hammer smashed a statue of the Virgin Mary outside St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City early Thursday, and the New York Police Department is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.
Surveillance video released by the Brooklyn Diocese shows the suspect hopping a fence into the church courtyard on 11th Street near 36th Avenue shortly after 1:42 a.m. Aug. 1. St. Rita's sits in the Dutch Kills section of Queens, a neighborhood also known as Astoria.
The vandal pulled a hammer from his pants pocket and struck the Virgin Mary statue multiple times. The force snapped the statue's head from its pedestal. The head rolled to the vandal's feet. He pocketed the hammer, scaled the fence and fled.
The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force has taken over the investigation. No arrest has been made.
The Aug. 1 attack is the fourth time St. Rita's has been targeted in a similar manner since 2024. Each incident has left the parish with repair and security costs that divert funds from community programs and charitable work.
The repeated attacks have drawn alarm from local residents and religious leaders, who have called for greater police presence around houses of worship. The Diocese of Brooklyn has urged a thorough investigation.
Investigators are reviewing the surveillance footage for identifying features and are asking anyone with information about this or the previous attacks to contact the NYPD. Anonymous tips are accepted.
