NYPD Hate Crimes Unit Investigating After Attack on Church's Mary Statue Is Caught on Camera
A statue of the Virgin Mary outside a New York City Catholic church was smashed in the latest attack on the church.
The incident took place at 1:40 a.m. Sunday at St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church in Dutch Kills, Queens, according to the New York Post.
Video showed a man wearing shorts and a T-shirt, with a mask covering much of his face, jumping over a fence to reach the churchyard.
Once there, he took a hammer to the statue until it fell into a wall, causing the head of the statue to fall off.
A man hopped the fence of a NYC church and SMASHED a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Police are now investigating this as a possible hate crime.
This is the FOURTH time this church has been vandalized.
Welcome to Mamdani’s NYC pic.twitter.com/hLhZbZrzoH
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 6, 2026
The statue fell off the pedestal upon which it had been placed.
The individual then fled.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident, according to QNS.
Through Aug. 2, the 114th Precinct, in which the incident took place, has recorded 10 hate crimes. Only five had been reported at the same point last year.
The church has been attacked before.
No doubt in my mind the POS in NYC who hopped the fence and smashed the Virgin Mary statue is a Mamdani supporter. pic.twitter.com/puy1HUpYvN
— Dennis Michael Lynch (@TrustDML) August 6, 2026
In April, a statue of St. Francis of Assisi was defaced.
At that time, the perpetrator wrote “PAGAN” in blue spray paint on the sidewalk.
The Diocese of Brooklyn said in a news release that there have been two other attacks since 2024.
In one incident, a 60-year-old stained-glass window was smashed. In another, a statue of St. Jude inside the church was damaged.
In writing on mycharisma.com, Abby Trivett wrote, “Are we witnessing a growing boldness in attacks against Christian faith and places of worship?”
“In moments like this, the church’s greatest response is not panic — it is prayer,” she added.
“The enemy may seek to intimidate, desecrate and divide, but history has repeatedly shown that when the church responds in faith instead of fear, the gospel continues to shine even brighter,” she wrote.
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