Statues Vandalized At Church In Queens; Suspect Arrested

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A suspect has been arrested after statues were vandalized at a church in Oakland Gardens, Queens.

The vandalism occurred last Friday just after 6 p.m. at the American Martyrs Church on Bell Boulevard.

A statue of Mary was dragged 25 feet from its base and smashed. The shell surrounding a statue of Jesus was damaged after being thrown down a flight of steps.

A suspect was arrested around 8:25 p.m. Saturday in connection with the incident, police said.

Sung Lee, 26, of Queens, was charged with criminal contempt, aggravated harassment on a religious premise, aggravated harassment as a hate crime, and criminal mischief, police said.

This was the latest in a series of vandalism incidents at the church. Back in December, another statue was damaged. In October, a bingo sign at the church was damaged. And in August of 2017, a man hurled a brick through the church door windows. Police arrested a suspect in that case.