Minneapolis priest believes "urban explorer" trend behind recent attempted church break-ins

Within the last several weeks, a Minneapolis pastor said his church and surrounding buildings on the property have been the target of people trying to break in.

The break-in attempts have caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to doors and windows, and are raising concerns about safety for parishioners, Spencer Howe said.

Late Friday night, surveillance video captured four people outside Holy Cross Catholic Church. In the footage, one person appears to use a crowbar in an attempt to force open a locked door. Another clip shows people with flashlights inside one of their buildings.

"It's almost happening, you know, two, three, four times a week," Howe said. "I'd say at least 15 to 20 times we've had attempts to enter or entries into our buildings."

Howe believes the value they are after is online clout, motivated by social media attention as part of the "urban explorer" trend, where individuals seek access to restricted or abandoned locations and post the footage online.

"I know some of the posts of people inside of our buildings have been circulated on social media," Howe said.

Minneapolis police have been called several times, but officers have not arrived in time to catch those responsible, he said.

Despite the frustration, Howe said he hopes those involved will choose a different path.

"We'd love to serve these young people, to meet them and help them find what they're looking for, but breaking into a church isn't going to help them find what they're looking for," Howe said.

WCCO reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department about the reported break-ins, but a spokesperson said they were unable to answer questions on Sunday.