WAUSEON, Ohio — Wauseon police are hoping to catch the vandals who damaged three religious statues at Saint Caspar Catholic Church.
The statues are believed to have been vandalized over the weekend.
"I saw that three statues were destroyed and we saw a cigarette butt in a cross too," Casey Sekula, parish secretary said. "I was in shock. We've been having some vandalism back here anyways past couple of years."
The broken statues may be damaged beyond repair. Two of the statues were defaced. The third was decapitated. Those with the church see the damage as an insult to the church and the Catholic faith.
"It's just really rude what they did. It's sad for our parish and we have no idea why they're doing this," Sekula said.
The statues that were damaged are kept inside chapels in a wooded area located behind the church. It's considered a sacred place where people go to pray, meditate and remember those that have passed on.
The church filed a police report on Monday. Church officials are considering placing surveillance cameras around the property.