Suffolk County Police are investigating whether a hate crime was committed after a suspect beheaded a Sacred Heart of Jesus statue at the Church of St. Mary in East Islip last Friday.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Anthony Iaconis, told The Christian Post in an interview Monday that the Hate Crimes Unit of the Suffolk County Police was called to the church around 11 a.m. on Saturday after a group doing spring planting on the property discovered the statue’s head in nearby bushes.
“We had a group doing the spring planting, the flowers and everything, and they found the head not too far away in the bushes,” Iaconis said.
He said they didn’t realize the statue had been vandalized until they found the head.
“They had been planting around the statue, but they were just kind of shocked at it,” he said.
A review of the church’s security camera footage showed that the beheading of the statue, made of resin and fiberglass, was carried out by one person.
While there is no clear indication of the suspect’s motive for beheading the statue, Regina Vavricka, who has been a member of the parish with her husband for nearly 60 years, told News 12 the attack on the statue has shaken the community.
“I think everyone would be upset by it, whether you belong to this parish or not, or whether you’re Catholic or Jewish, it doesn’t really matter,” she said.
Data from the Family Research Council, which has been tracking incidents of hostility against churches in the United States since 2018, show that hostility and hate crimes against churches across the country have risen significantly in recent years. These attacks include vandalism, arson, bomb threats, gun-related incidents and other crimes, but vandalism is the leading crime.
The FRC has identified 1,384 acts of hostility toward U.S. churches that have occurred between January 2018 and December 2024.
“These acts are destructive and have the potential to intimidate religious communities. Therefore, they deserve to be condemned,” the FRC stated.
Iaconis said about 30 years ago, a statue of Mary was also vandalized at the church, but he wasn’t worried about attacks on the church in his community, even though it’s “disheartening.”
“In this area, I’m not so concerned. … It’s not like we’re in one of these big cities where it’s happening to different places. This is something that happens occasionally out here, but it’s disheartening,” he told CP. “For somebody to do this, they can’t, obviously, they’re not in their right mind, and I just ask people to pray for them.”
He said he has already reached out to a contractor to repair the statue that has been at the church for about 15 years.
Speaking directly to the suspect, Iaconis said, “If you need help, ask for it. Destroying things is not gonna do you any good.”
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