The New York Police Department (NYPD) is examining the destruction of a Virgin Mary statue outside St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City as a potential hate crime. A man allegedly climbed over a fence and smashed the statue repeatedly with a hammer.

Surveillance footage, released by The Diocese of Brooklyn, shows a masked man attacking the statue. Church officials say this is the latest in several attacks targeting the parish. This incident marks the fourth reported vandalism at the church since 2024.

The attack occurred around 1:42 a.m. on August 1. The suspect, dressed in a dark T-shirt and shorts, climbs over the fence to reach the courtyard where the statue stood. He then uses a hammer from his pocket to hit the statue multiple times, eventually knocking it off its pedestal, after which he leaves the scene.

Previous acts of vandalism at the parish have included damage to a 60-year-old stained-glass window, graffiti on a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, and damage to a statue of St. Jude inside the church.

John Quaglione, Deputy Press Secretary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, stated that no arrests have been made yet. He noted that NYPD crime statistics show a 9.4% increase in hate crimes over the same seven-month period compared to last year.

Emma Bussey, a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, reported on this incident. Prior to Fox, she covered various desks such as foreign, politics, and culture for The Telegraph’s U.S. team.