Vandal flees with Lady of Fatima’s hands after hammering DC church statue, video shows
DC Metropolitan Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a man accused of vandalizing a religious statue outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception over the weekend.
The incident, which was captured on surveillance video, occurred just before 11 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 5, according to an incident report obtained by McClatchy News.
The masked man is seen taking a hammer to the face, nose and hands of a statue depicting Our Lady of Fatima, the video shows. He whacks the statue repeatedly, “causing the praying hands to be broken” and a cross on the crown to fall, police said.
The man takes a piece of the broken statue with him before fleeing the area moments later, according to the video.
The vandalism happened just days before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, “a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church” celebrated on Dec. 8, WRC-TV reported.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call DC Metropolitan Police at 202-727-9099.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Vandal flees with Lady of Fatima’s hands after hammering DC church statue, video shows."