UPDATED: ‘They did yell profanities’: 8 Latter-day Saint churches found vandalized in Washington County

ST. GEORGE — Eight churches belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day-Saints located in St. George and Hurricane were vandalized overnight Wednesday in what appears to be a serial string of incidents.

A church belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that had a window damaged overnight in the Tonaquint area. The window had already been repaired by mid-morning, St. George, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

While the incidents are still under investigation, police say they believe all of the incidents are connected and all involve the same type of damage: broken windows. There was also an LDS church vandalized in Washington City overnight Tuesday and police are trying to determine if that is connected to the other incidents.

In all, six churches in St. George were hit and two in Hurricane. While the times of the incidents have not been determined, the damage at all the churches was discovered between 2 and 3 a.m.

Police have identified a vehicle involved in some or all of the incidents: a white or silver Honda sedan with a spoiler on the back and a damaged fender on the driver’s side. 

There was also a description by a witness of at least two people in the car.

“They did yell profanities at the reporting person,” Officer Tiffany Mitchell with the St. George Police said.

Mitchell added it is disturbing to have to respond to people attacking places of worship.

“It’s certainly unnecessary and disheartening that people would take the time to damage something when they can put their efforts into something else,” Mitchell said. “If you have an issue with somebody, there’s a better way to handle it. There’s a better way to handle things.”

Irene Caso, a spokesperson at the World Headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, also decried the incidents.

“Our Church buildings are places of worship and community gathering where all are welcome,” Caso told St. George News. “We are saddened by the vandalism which has occurred to various meetinghouses in the area. ”

Five of the six incidents in St. George happened on the Dinosaur Crossing and airport side of town except for one church in the Tonaquint area. 

Damage to a window seen at a church belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hurricane, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Hurricane Police, St. George News

Hurricane Police Officer Dan Raddatz said after Hurricane Police caught wind of the incidents in St. George, they began to check churches in their area. 

Officers found two separate LDS churches that were hit in Hurricane – one with two broken windows and one broken window on the other.

“Only one pane of the double-pane windows were broken on each,” Raddatz said. “Our officers started checking all of our churches after hearing about all the other incidents. Between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. was when we discovered the broken windows. It’s unknown when they were actually broken.”

Police in both Hurricane and St. George said there was no evidence of entry at any of the incidents or any sign of an object that may have been used to break the windows. According to Forbes magazine, it typically costs between $900 to $1,200 to replace a large window. 

There doesn’t appear to be a connection to a string of three vandalism incidents at LDS churches last August, as the suspect in those incidents remains in Purgatory Correctional Facility. 

Mitchell said after the incidents in St. George, police there went out and checked all churches in the area and found no other incidents of vandalism. Mitchell added police made a point to check all churches and places of worship not just those belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We’re going to protect all of them.”

Update July 20, 5 p.m. Added comments from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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