Vandalism and Fire in Hilders Church

Case information
Incident date
Country
Germany
Place
Hilders
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Arson
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Church
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Lack of Other Motive
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Symbolic image; not a photograph of the reported incident.Image credit: m63mueller from Pixabay

On Sunday, April 21, unknown persons entered the Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist during official opening hours, tore flower decorations from the benches, destroyed sacrificial candles and burned paper in several places.

The police remarked that the damage remained limited: “Fortunately, this did not cause a fire, but a church pew was slightly damaged,” the press release by the police in Fulda reads. The material damage caused amounts to 100 euros.

"It is frightening that people do something like this and apparently have no respect for what is sacred to others," Carsten Noll, the parish priest of the St. John the Baptist Church said. According to him, perplexity and consternation prevail in the parish since the incident.

Sources