From Fox News:
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating the destruction of a Virgin Mary statue outside St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City as a possible hate crime after a man climbed over a fence and repeatedly smashed it down using a hammer.
In surveillance video released by the Diocese of Brooklyn, the masked man violently hits the statue outside the church in what Catholic officials say is the latest in a string of attacks targeting the parish. In a press release, church officials said it is the fourth reported vandalism incident targeting the parish since 2024, and the New York City Police Department is investigating the latest vandalism as a possible hate crime.