Godless hammer-wielding maniac beheads Virgin Mary statue in NYC: officials

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A godless, hammer-wielding maniac vandalized a statue of the Virgin Mary outside of a Queens house of worship, in what diocese officials said was the latest in a series of vandalizing attacks against the church.

Cops said the blasphemous desecration happened around 1:40 a.m. on Sunday at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Dutch Kills.

A damaged Virgin Mary statue is seen at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City on Saturday, August 1, 2026. The Diocese of Brooklyn announced the act of vandalism, which is being investigated by the NYPD as a hate crime. (Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church) Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church

Video provided by the Diocese of Brooklyn, which also covers Queens, showed a masked creep in shorts and a T-shirt hopping a fence into the church’s yard. 

A damaged Virgin Mary statue is pictured at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City on Saturday, August 1, 2026. The Diocese of Brooklyn announced the act of vandalism, which is being investigated by the NYPD as a hate crime. (Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church) Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church

The footage shows the heathen whacking the Mother of God with a hammer, knocking the statue so hard against the wall that its head fell off, and then running away.

A damaged Virgin Mary statue is seen at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City on Saturday, August 1, 2026. The Diocese of Brooklyn announced the act of vandalism, which is being investigated by the NYPD as a hate crime. (Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church) Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church

The incident was being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force Unit, cops said.

A vandalized Virgin Mary statue is seen at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City on Saturday, August 1, 2026. The Diocese of Brooklyn announced the act of vandalism, which is being investigated by the NYPD as a hate crime. (Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church) Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church

But diocese officials said at least three other instances of property damage at the same church were recorded so far this year.

A statue of the hallow St. Francis outside the church was defaced and the sidewalk graffitied on March 21, according to the diocese.

A vandalized Virgin Mary statue is seen at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. The Diocese of Brooklyn announced the act of vandalism, which is being investigated by the NYPD as a hate crime. (Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church) Courtesy of St. Rita’s Church

A statue of St. Jude and a 60-year-old stained glass window were also cracked by bigoted barbarians, the church said. 

Police only had record of the Virgin Mary and St. Francis statues having been desecrated.

It was unclear if any of the incidents were related.

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