Hammer-wielding vandal smashes religious statues outside Brooklyn church in ‘heinous act’
A hammer-wielding vandal was arrested for bashing in the faces of statues of Mother Teresa and a Catholic pope outside a Brooklyn church Monday.
Randy Maldonado Avila, 30, allegedly took a hammer to the statues, then the glass doors of St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church in Bensonhurst before he continued on his path of mayhem, smashing a pedestrian walk sign and two MTA bus shelters, according to police.
Maldonado Avila, of Flatbush, allegedly attacked the statues of Mother Teresa and Pope John XXIII outside the church on Bay Ridge Parkway at around 3:30 p.m. — leaving the latter with no face or right hand, photos posted by the church show.
He then is accused of breaking the glass doors of the church before wandering off and damaging a pedestrian traffic signal and two glass bus shelters along Bay Parkway, police said.
“Yesterday a random act of violence occurred at St Dominic’s Church. We are saddened by the damage and the senseless violation of sacred statues and the broken glass of our church doors,” the church wrote on Facebook alongside photos of the damage Tuesday. “We thank God no one was physically injured.”
Maldonado Avila — who has no criminal history — was arrested about 15 minutes after his destructive outburst and charged with four felony counts of criminal mischief, four misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD.
He was taken to an area hospital, where he remained Tuesday night.
It’s unclear if Maldonado Avila will be charged with a hate crime for the vandalism of the Catholic church.
