Arrest Made After Statue Of Virgin Mary Toppled Outside Brooklyn Church In Broad Daylight
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police have made an arrest after a man was caught on camera vandalizing a religious statue in Brooklyn.
The statue stood outside Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace on West 17th Street and Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island. It was worth $4,000.
The statue depicts Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the most iconic images of the Virgin Mary, and it is particularly revered by Mexican-Americans.
A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe was vandalized at Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace. Praying for the church, as parishioners come together to raise funds to repair the statue important to the whole #ConeyIsland community. @TabletNewspaper https://t.co/aBkhpnClbF
— Diocese of Brooklyn (@BrooklynDiocese) September 16, 2020
Surveillance video shows a man in a hat climbing a fence outside Our Lady of Solace and clambering up a religious shrine. He grabs the statue of the Blessed Mother, knocks it over and hurls it onto the sidewalk.
The Blessed Mother's face and hands were smashed.
It happened on Sept. 11.
Police have charged Manhattan resident Daniel Ventre, 37, with criminal mischief.
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