Faith

Nativity Scenes & Christian Statues Desecrated in Yonkers, NY

Nativity Scenes & Virgin Mary Statues Desecrated in Yonkers, NY

Vandalized statues in Yonkers, NY (Photo Credit: NBC New York)

Officials in Yonkers, New York, are actively searching for spray-painting culprits who have been desecrating religious statues throughout the city. So far, in twelve reported incidents, nativity and religions scenes have been vandalized or stolen.

If and when those responsible are caught, they may face felony charges for their actions, which are being deemed “biased crimes.” This, of course, holds the potential to carry a sentence of several years behind bars.

According to Yonkers Police Commissioner Edmund Hartnett, religious crimes are rare in the city, which borders the Bronx. Police currently have little to go on in terms of leads, but they are offering a $1,000 reward for more information.

“We believe an attack on one religion is an attack on all religions,” Hartnett said at a Monday press conference.

Below, see surveillance footage that captured one of the incidents unfolding:

The bizarre crime spree started on Saturday evening and ended, police believe, on Sunday, with six homes and two churches falling victim. One of the statues outside of Sacred Heard Church had black paint dumped all over it. Several Mary statues, according to the Associated Press, had their faces painted black.

According to LoHud.com, the word “Stop” was also spray-painted on the back of one of the statues. In another bizarre occurrence, a resident came home to find a man stealing a Virgin Mary statue from her front yard. The homeowner claims that he said, “Bye,” waved at her and ran away. The statue was later recovered in a trash bin.

Here’s an ABC News report with more:

CBS News has reaction from Yonkers citizens:

“I think it’s childish and immature not really in the holiday spirit,” one person said.

Victoria Beldran is one of eight people who called police due to the vandalism in front of her home this weekend on Park Avenue.

“It’s not about the statue, it’s about what it means for you. It hurts,” Beldran said.

Currently, police are unsure as to how many people are involved, but the community is understandably unsettled by the developments.

 

Comments (150)

1 2 3 4
  • This_Individual
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:44pm

    New York needs to fall into the ocean.

    Report Post »  
    • gosutag
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:59pm

      Not just yet, let me leave first.

      Report Post » gosutag  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:12pm

      This isn‘t about ’atheists’ and Christians.

      This “IS” about hate for religion and Communists.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • This_Individual
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:17pm

      Sure thing! If this took place in California, that’s what would be posted all over this story… So I just had to see what it was like :)

      Report Post »  
    • gingerds9
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:38pm

      I agree, and I live here.

      Report Post » gingerds9  
    • NHwinter
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:54pm

      Wonder what would happen if a mosque was defaced.

      Report Post » NHwinter  
    • Hova
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:59pm

      Why do you attribute the failings of individuals to an entire state? If this were reasonable, every state would plunge.

      Report Post » Hova  
    • AJAYW
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:07pm

      @NHwinter
      Holder and obama would have the FBI, CIA and would even be calling out the NY national guard to try to find out who did this if it were.

      Report Post »  
    • nelbert
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 8:17pm

      @ HOVA:

      Of course, you’re right. It’s the actions of a few twisted individuals, not the entire populace of a state.
      I’m sure the ire, however, is that certain states – much of urban California, most notoriously, and New York City – are not only spawning grounds for such actions but are oddly tolerant and at times seemingly supportive.

      Report Post » nelbert  
    • EddardStark
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 10:30pm

      @NHWINTER – the same exact thing would be happening. If a mosque had been vandalized police would be looking for the perpetrators to charge them with hate crimes. That is what “bias crimes” actually means – check out NY’s definition of a hate crime: “Criminal acts involving violence, intimidation and destruction of property based upon bias and prejudice.” The Blaze didn’t term them “hate crimes” because they want people like you to think that there is some legal protection especially for Muslims. There isn’t. So before you fly off the handle and think that these horrible “Christian bigots” are getting away scott free, think and try to act like a rational human being.

      Report Post » EddardStark  
    • Chappy123
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 11:04pm

      It will be one of the first to go.

      Report Post »  
    • StonyBurk
      Posted on December 22, 2011 at 9:10am

      I disagree– the Sacred Writings teach that we wrestle not with flesh and blood– I would rather the dark powers that control and possess the poor misguided souls that did this be seen in the light and forced
      to bow the knee to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Those who erected– or maintained the desecrated property have done nothing to warrant a curse that they fall into the sea.curse the evil-love the good.

      Report Post »  
    • Shupp
      Posted on December 22, 2011 at 9:26am

      Why is it when Christianity is attacked it’s only classified as a “Biased Crime”? I guess that since Christianity doesn‘t fall under the umbrella of the Liberal Socialist Athiest Progressive movement it can’t be qualified as a “Hate Crime” and carry a more stricter punishment.

      Report Post »  
    • This_Individual
      Posted on December 22, 2011 at 5:02pm

      HOVA, I was being facetious. I’m not that ignorant.

      Report Post »  
    • chicago76
      Posted on December 22, 2011 at 8:21pm

      Ruler4 is right.

      Report Post »  
    • MCDAVE
      Posted on December 24, 2011 at 3:10am

      I’ll Say it again ;No room for God in a communist country. Its the socialists behind all these attacks on religion .

      Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:42pm

    Look to the Occupy radicals and their extremist allies. Most likely the answer to the problem lays in that direction.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • NHwinter
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:56pm

      Good thing the Lord is patient and slow to anger. How he puts up with all this is a miracle in itself.

      Report Post » NHwinter  
  • momsense
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:30pm

    I wonder if they’ll do anythng to them, if they find them, except make excuses for them–no hate crime charges, no vandalism charges, nor significant time in jail if there really are charges.

    Report Post »  
    • EddardStark
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 10:32pm

      Relax. “Bias crimes” are hate crimes. Vocabulary is hard.

      Report Post » EddardStark  
  • guns-an-bibles
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:28pm

    All this started a long time ago. Yonkers went Bonkers.

    Report Post » guns-an-bibles  
    • trueblueday
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:08pm

      Yonkers, my place of birth. We moved from there when I was 8 years old.

      I remember a city of strong religious faith back then.
      Seeing this? What a terrible sacrilege.

      Report Post »  
  • Flex-it
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:26pm

    Thank you Obama for your policies and values that encourages religious hate more then uniting people. “By their fruits, you will know them”.

    Report Post »  
    • GeorgieJo
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:38pm

      I anxiously await to see how SNL makes a parody/satire OUT OF THIS
      Sorry for the people of Yonkers who want to display their FAITH and are attacked.
      Society as we know it—-is swirling down the drain.

      Report Post »  
    • Locked
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:41pm

      Not sure if it’s true in Yonkers, but this has happened yearly in my hometown as well. Whenever they catch someone it‘s usually some young kids who think it’s hilarious to tweak their neighbors’ noses like this. Obama is bad, but he’s a symptom of the moral decline in the country, not the cause of it.

      Report Post »  
  • commonsenseguy
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:23pm

    when they catch them, they should drag their sorry butts behind a truck through the streets until they are down to the bone, it is the only way to get these idiots attention, maybe little harsh for some,but damn, this has stop, if you don’t like what people have in there yards or what people believe,then don’t look at it when you go by it,and don’t worry about what they believe spiritually, these morons would be peeved off if someone defaced their stuff or beat the hell out of them because they looked funny or played video games, this is just stupid, but i am afraid it will only get worse,because obama and the democommies have allowed this to really get worse by dividing the country on the basis of money and color, and when it really hits the fan, it will be the democommies who run and hide,like the cowards they really are.

    Report Post »  
    • guns-an-bibles
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:31pm

      I think they should drag their sorry butts the the streets until everything they destroyed is restored!

      Report Post » guns-an-bibles  
    • Architor
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:44pm

      Dragging people behind trucks is what lynch mobs do. Leave that to the KKK and the mob. Real Americans and Christians don’t resort to stupid violence so easily. Do catch them and make them repair the damage done. Maybe they should buy new statues and the defaced ones can be put in the perpetrator’s yard.

      Report Post » Architor  
    • Shego
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:11pm

      Really? You… you… want to lash a person to the back of a truck and drag them down the streets for all to see as their skin, muscle, and sinew is grated-off down to the bone leaving a bloody smear in your wake as your victim most likely dies of blood-loss. … Because some punk decided to spray paint a humanoid piece of stone or stole a ‘Made in China’ plastic doll-set? Do you feel no shame in publically posting your desire to see petty a petty vandal tortured to death? And yet it‘s the atheists and ’democommies’ whom are destroying the virtuous, moral character of our country. Mm-hmm…

      Report Post » Shego  
  • conventschoolgirl
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:16pm

    I also think the category “hate crime” is stupid. Is something a “hate” crime as opposed to a “love” crime? There should be no such category because for one thing, it is applied subjectively and becomes a matter of bias whenever it is charged. It is not against the law to hate someone/something. Just PC run amock, thanks to Ted Kennedy.

    Report Post » conventschoolgirl  
    • Locked
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:28pm

      Not that I’m defending hate crime legislation (which I’m not; it seems redundant since intent is already taken into consideration when applying penalties), but:
      “It is not against the law to hate someone/something”
      Hate crime legislation doesn’t make it illegal to hate someone or something. It’s an additional penalty added on to a committed crime on the basis that the crime was performed due to hatred of some characteristic (rare, religion, sexual orientation, etc), because the crime also affects that community at large.

      Sounds flimsy, but it definitely doesn’t make hating someone or something a crime; it just applies harsher penalties if you commit a crime because of that hatred.

      Report Post »  
    • From Virginia
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:58pm

      @Locked – which is exactly why they should ALL be repealed. A crime is a crime – PERIOD. Turning people into thought police is insane. Besides, it only applies if a protected class is victimized. If a straight white person is involved – even if racially motivated – the perp is NEVER charged with this thought crime, no matter how hienous the crime.

      Report Post »  
    • Locked
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 11:03pm

      @From Virginia

      I’m all for repealing or overturning hate crime legislation. But that is not the same as saying “A crime is a crime is a crime.” Intent very much matters. Killing someone can be all sorts of crimes: self-defense, manslaughter, different degrees of murder. My point is that intent is already taken into account in sentencing; hate crime legislation is redundant.

      Report Post »  
  • B-Neil
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:13pm

    Faith is in the heart. Love is in the heart. Statues have no bearing. Your attempt to alter, Failed. Sorry you’re a looser. CARRY ON McDUFF p.s. MERRY CHRISTMAS to all and even you atheists.

    Report Post »  
  • BonnieBlueFlag
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:10pm

    “Hate crime” statutes are unconstitutional thought-policing… HOWEVER, if you are going to charge anyone who dares insult Muslims or Jews or blacks with a “hate crime” this better qualify as well. I am sick of the war on Christians, whites, males and the American way of life.

    Report Post » BonnieBlueFlag  
    • the wireworker
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:18pm

      you know why christianity is being attacked, Because it is the only TRUE faith.

      Report Post » the wireworker  
    • Cemetery
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:25pm

      It’s okay to do this but not to display virgin Mary statues? Makes sense.

      Report Post » Cemetery  
    • momsense
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:28pm

      You ain’t the only one !

      Report Post »  
  • dontbotherme
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:09pm

    We all have the right to disagree with the viewpoint of other people. None of us have the right to desecrate the property of those we disagree with. This is a specific crime against faith. It is a fear tactic and should be treated as a bully intimidation crime.

    Report Post »  
  • hi
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:06pm

    It stinks but at least the crimes were not directly against people.

    Report Post » hi  
    • Locked
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:14pm

      I hope the vandalism wasn’t out of spite. I know kids from my hometown would pull stunts like this every year; not for any inherent dislike of Christians, but just because they knew it would drive the owners crazy. It was mean then, and it’s mean now.

      Even if no one was hurt, it’s still an incredibly mean-spirited crime. I hope the perpetrators are caught.

      Report Post »  
  • blackstone22
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:04pm

    I hope the police find the culprit(s) and throw the book at them.

    Report Post »  
  • searching for the Truth
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:00pm

    I believe this all started when Bert and Ernie came out of the closet and joined Farrakhan’s group.

    Report Post »  
  • Clara88
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:47pm

    Jack Cafferty over at CNN has posted a question on his blog. Could Fast and Furious be Obama’s Watergate? I think he needs some conservative views on his blog…heehee He is going to read some of them on the air later. Of course all of the progressjves are blaming Pres. Bush.
    http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/20/could-fast-and-furious-eventually-become-president-obamas-watergate/

    Report Post » Clara88  
    • CatB
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:53pm

      Then let’s give him some…..

      TEA!

      Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:57pm

      Looks like they have closed the comments … ;-) Guess they got some they didn’t expect. Unless they just don’t like “free speech” …

      Report Post »  
  • thegreatcarnac
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:46pm

    You know the drill. It will depend on who the vandals are, what religion, what ethnicity. and what minority they belong to…….that will decide if they get stuck with “hate crimes’ or not. Afterall..Christianity…that is mainly a white man’s religion ..isn’t it?

    Report Post »  
  • GardenoftheGods
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:46pm

    With some members of Congress DEMANDING that Lowes advertise on the tv show “All American Muslim”, we are seeing an all out attack on Christianity and our free market system. Today‘s America is more foreign to me than some Socialist countries I’ve visited. It’s time to stand up for the religious freedom our Founders desired.

    Report Post » GardenoftheGods  
  • Solzhenitsin
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:44pm

    It‘s all the haters on the internet encouraging one another toward more radicalized thinking until finally they can’t hold back. They are compelled to react against those they’ve imagined as the enemy who wants them to convert or die or some such nonsense. So it begins.

    Report Post »  
  • kentuckypatriot
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:43pm

    The demons are really coming out of the woodwork now, don’t ya think?

    Report Post » kentuckypatriot  
  • alrunner58
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:39pm

    People of faith will pray for these poor souls. That’s the difference between good vs. evil.

    Report Post » alrunner58  
  • momrules
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:39pm

    Biased crimes? Would that be “hate crime” if done to anything Islam?

    By the way, the UN adopted resolution 16/18 criminalizing insult to Islam.

    Report Post »  
    • Locked
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:55pm

      “By the way, the UN adopted resolution 16/18 criminalizing insult to Islam.”

      1. The UN can’t criminalize anything. They can call upon their members to do so, but they can’t force anyone to make something a crime.
      2. The resolution actually reads that the UN: “Condemns any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.” How terrible.

      Just wanted to clarify. Never good to state something as fact when it’s actually fiction.

      Report Post »  
    • momrules
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:17pm

      locked….I suggest you read more about it. Try getting more than just a talking point. Try going to a sit with real info about this resolution, the OIC and who is promoting this agenda. Reading and understanding is a good thing. You might try it.

      Report Post »  
    • Locked
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:30pm

      @Momrules

      I’m not sure how much more “reading” you can do if you don’t actually read the resolution. That quote is from the resolution, not a talking point site. I took it from a site that made the same claims you did. The point is the resolution doesn’t say what you say it does, and the UN cannot criminalize something by itself.

      Report Post »  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:38pm

    I HATE it when people commit crimes. Who knows, maybe the guy who stole the statue just needed a date that night. Is loneliness a crime?

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • biohazard23
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:44pm

      No, but it helps their case when the “date” in question is made of latex instead of the Virgin Mary…..

      Report Post » biohazard23  
    • 4truth2all
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:06pm

      Yes…if the date is kidnapped, even if she is stone cold.

      Report Post »  
  • JustPeachy
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:37pm

    Vandalism is vandalism and carries consequences with it no matter the object.

    Don‘t do the crime unless you’re willin’ to pay the time.

    Report Post » JustPeachy  
    • trueblueday
      Posted on December 21, 2011 at 9:21pm

      When they’re caught, they need to be sat down with a bucket, a toothbrush, and some paint remover. Wouldn’t care how long it took, but they would need to clean – and I mean spotlessly clean – every last statue that they defaced with paint.

      Report Post »  
  • elosogrande
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:37pm

    Give ‘em a break! Liberal Democrats and other Obama supporters need something to keep them occupied until the election.

    Report Post »  
  • Locked
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:36pm

    My first thought was “Huh, the last time I thought of Yonkers, it was from The Battle of Yonkers in World War Z.”

    My second thought was “It seems like the brain-dead zombies are already there.”

    Shame on anyone who does something like this.

    Report Post »  
  • DJEyeDub
    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:35pm

    Personally I think this “hate crime” crap is BS. Crimes are crimes and criminals are criminals no matter how you “paint it” pardon the pun.

    Report Post » DJEyeDub  
1 2 3 4

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love