'There's No Respect': Vile Vandalism Could Drive Longtime Church Out Of Carmichael
CARMICHAEL (CBS13) - Vile vandalism could drive a longtime church out of Carmichael.
It happens time and again, but this latest round of damage has Pastor Thomas Burrows saying enough is enough. He couldn't believe what vandals did to his church this time.
"You can see where they climbed the fence and bent the heck out of it," said Pastor Burrows. "Up here was their gang motto. It's orange and black."
His granddaughter took pictures of the mess at Landmark Baptist Church showing phrases with the f-word and God. There were also drawings of body parts and the n-word scrawled right outside the Sunday school classroom.
"There's no respect for people, places things. No respect for the church, there's no respect anymore," said member Rodney Swaim.
Swaim grew up in this church. He's now a local painter and he didn't hesitate to clean it all up.
"I'm at a loss of words. It's just disappointing that people can do something like this for no reason at all," said Swaim.
"Why would I do this to your house? Why would I do this to the house of God?" said Pastor Burrows.
Pastor Burrows says aside from the graffiti, they've hauled away truck loads of trash and had all the windows taken out. The costs add up.
"Every time you tear that fence down back there it's about $6,000. It's been torn down four times," said Pastor Burrows.
Vandals have a local church at a loss. What's supposed to be a community beacon is now feeling broken.
"There's no fear of God before people's eyes and I've come to the conclusion that if you don't fear God you're sure as not going to fear the law," said Pastor Burrows.
Pastor Burrows says he's considering selling the church because they can't afford to keep cleaning up after vandals.