Public Christian Symbol (outside place of worship)
Bias Indicators
Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Time/Place/Location
Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
Yes
Response of Local Authorities
Investigated
Symbolic image; not a photograph of the reported incident.Image credit: Emily Morter on Unsplash
On New Year's Eve, a 22-year-old man blew up the statue of the Virgin Mary, which was placed in the garden of the parish of St. Stephen of Waldmünchen. The perpetrator also filmed the act. The statue stood on a one-meter-high grotto and was blown up with a banger. Parts of the statue were found within a radius of several meters, additionally a pile of rubble was left in the garden. The statue had a monetary value of 1.000 Euros, but the ideational damage is much bigger, for the grotto was made by a sacristan of the parish 40 years ago. When interrogated, the young man said he did it for the "nice feeling", he got reported by the police, but still walks freely.
