Miami-Dade

Two Statues at Catholic Church in Miami Shores Vandalized

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Two statues at a Catholic church have been vandalized in Miami Shores about a month apart. The Archdiocese of Miami says the statues stand on sacred ground and they are having trouble understanding why anyone would do this. 

The first of the two incidents of vandalism on statues of Jesus was a one in front of St. Martha’s Church, which was left without a hand. 

“It sends a sad message. It sends a strong message. Perhaps that it is an anti-Christ issue,” Mary Ross Augusta, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Miami said.

The second and most recent desecration happened on September 29th. A statue in front of the parish office was left headless and handless. 

“We found the head over the fence. It was thrown on another piece of property,” Ross Augusta said. 

The archdiocese says the act of vandalism was captured on camera. 

“In that video, that’s the only video that exists, you can see a person throwing whether or not it was a large rock, or using a hammer, and you can see them going at the hand and finally the hand is knocked off,” Ross Augusta said. 

NBC 6 requested the video from the Miami Shores Police Department.

Augusta says the church is in the business of forgiveness but they want to know who is behind the vandalism. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Miami Shores Police Department.

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