Statue of the Virgin Mary Vandalized and Her Belongings Stolen

Case information
Incident date
Country
Spain
Place
Málaga
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Desecration
  • Theft
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Public Christian Symbol
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Censorship or Removal of Public Christian Symbols
Place of Incident
  • Chapel
Bias Indicators
  • Lack of Other Motive
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Image credit: Niusdiario

In the early hours of June 18, vandals broke the glass and threw to the ground the Statue of the Virgin in the chapel of Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Salvación. The perpetrators have stolen the crown, the dagger, and a brooch, as well as causing serious damage to the image. The brotherhood regrets what happened, especially because the image had recently been restored. The neighbors and devotees were shocked by this event.

The vandals threw a stone against the glass of the chapel, managing to open the latch of one of the lower windows, and threw the image of La Dolorosa to the floor, by pulling a carpet, without entering the chapel. "In this way, they approached her, little by little, until they managed to tear off her jewelry", he explains.

The brotherhood spokeswoman said that the image had "extensive damage to the face and also to the headdress, the mantle, the skirt and the roster which was from the 18th century". The National Police started an investigation and collected fingerprints from the scene to clarify what happened and find the perpetrators of this attack.

Source: Niusdiario