The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating the destruction of a Virgin Mary statue outside St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City as a possible hate crime after a man climbed over a fence and repeatedly smashed it down using a hammer.
In surveillance video released by the Diocese of Brooklyn, the masked man violently hits the statue outside the church in what Catholic officials say is the latest in a string of attacks targeting the parish.
In a press release, church officials said it is the fourth reported vandalism incident targeting the parish since 2024, and the New York City Police Department is investigating the latest vandalism as a possible hate crime.
According to the fourth vandalism incident at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church since 2024.
Past acts of vandalism at the parish include the destruction of a 60-year-old stained-glass window and graffiti that defaced a statue of St. Francis of Assisi and the sidewalk.
There was also damage done to a statue of St. Jude inside the church.
The Diocese of Brooklyn told Fox News Digital no arrests had been made.
"This week, the NYPD also issued a crime stats update and hate crimes are up by 9.4% over the same 7-month period (Jan-July) of last year," John Quaglione, deputy press secretary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn said.