Masked man smashes Blessed Mother statue at St. Rita

St. Rita Roman Catholic Church

Killed: 0
Injured: 0
Structures: 1
Denomination: Catholic

The Diocese of Brooklyn said the incident occurred early Saturday morning, August 1, 2026, and is being investigated by the NYPD as a hate crime. At 1:42 a.m., a masked man is seen on surveillance video jumping over a fence into a courtyard, taking a hammer from his pocket and smashing a statue of the Blessed Mother, causing it to fall off its pedestal. This is the fourth time since 2024 that St. Rita's Church has been vandalized.

Source: Diocese of Brooklyn · Open report

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