Sergeant Calls String Of Church Vandalisms In Fort Collins An 'Odd Coincidence'
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - Vandals are targeting churches in Fort Collins.
Someone vandalized the Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in the 2100 block of Majesty Drive early Sunday morning. Four other churches have been hit this summer in Fort Collins. Each of them were vandalized or burglarized.
The damage at the construction site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consisted was mostly knocked down pillars and banged up machinery.
"It's just an odd coincidence that we've had this many church burglaries in this short a time frame," Sgt. Dean Cunningham with Fort Collins Police Services said.
Cunningham says investigators don't yet know if the incidents are connected. In past cases the suspects stole cash from a church on Lemay Avenue and tools from a shed behind the Life Point Church on Prospect Road.
"You feel for both the people of the church and what they're trying to do, but you also feel for the people that are doing these kinds of crimes," said Steve Paxton, Executive Pastor at Life Point Church.
Paxton doesn't expect to recover his church's stolen property. Instead, he hopes for a different kind of resolution.
"Why is it that they're doing this? What's the impact in their lives? It's often something that needs to be resolved," Paxton said.
Surveillance cameras captured just one of the five crimes -- the burglary to Life Point Church. Police have the video but are not making it public, saying they don't want to give away any potential leads.
Police say in all the crimes there's nothing to indicate the suspects are anti-religious.