by Tablet Staff

LONG ISLAND CITY — A statue of the Blessed Mother was smashed outside of St. Rita Church on Aug. 1, marking the fourth time in two years the church has been targeted.

At 1:42 a.m., surveillance footage shows a masked man jump a fence into a courtyard area on St. Rita’s property, take a hammer out of his pocket, and smash the statue.

The force of the hit caused the statue to fall off its pedestal, and the head to break off.

The NYPD has confirmed it is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

“We are tired of this. I am so upset I don’t know what to say,” Father Felix Sanchez told The Tablet. “People are a little bit scared because of the attacks.”

The act follows a March 21 incident at St. Rita’s, where someone spray painted a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, and wrote “pagan” on the sidewalk. The perpetrator also spray painted an arrow leading from the word “pagan” up the pedestal of the statue.

Earlier in March, according to Father Felix Sanchez, a man entered the church while parishioners were serving coffee and proceeded to punch a statue of St. Jude.

Prior, on Feb. 9, 2024, a vandal threw a construction cone that smashed a 60-year-old stained-glass window.

No one has been injured in any of the incidents.

This is a developing story.