Man caused £35,000 worth of damage to church windows

Case information
Incident date
Country
United Kingdom
Place
London
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Church
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Other (text field)
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Lack of Other Motive
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Image credit: Westminster Extra

Over the course of five nights, an individual repeatedly attacked St James' church in London, damaging virtually every panel of the church's window. Some panels have been completely destroyed, others badly damaged.

The Te Deum window is a late 19th century stained glass window. The Metropolitan Police Service confirmed they were called to the church around 6.15pm on January 5 and British Transport Police colleagues had arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of criminal damage. He has since been bailed.

The Te Deum window is a precious late 19th century stained glass window. The church is currently fundraising in order to repair and protect the windows from future damage. The damage is estimated at £35,000.

Sources