Cops searching for vandal who tagged
MS-13 graffi ti on Bayside church, school
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Police continue to investigate
an act of vandalism at
a Bayside church and school,
in which an unknown suspect
graffitied the name of
the MS-13 gang on both of the
buildings.
The Diocese of Brooklyn
recently released surveillance
video of the vandal
defacing the entrance of Sacred
Heart of Jesus Catholic
Church and Catholic Academy
in the early morning of
Jan. 12.
Video showed the masked
suspect walking up to the
church and school before using
a can of spray paint. The
suspect tagged “MS-13” on the
walls near the main entrance
of the church and “MS” on the
Academy school doors.
“My initial reaction when
I heard about the vandalism
was that I didn’t know what
to expect. I thought maybe
windows were broken or our
nativity had been vandalized
and so in a sense, I was
relieved that the damage to
the church was not more significant,”
said Monsignor
Thomas Machalski, pastor
of Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman
Catholic Church, which
is located at 215-35 38th Ave.
in Bayside.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.8 COM | JAN. 24-JAN. 30, 2020
Police from the 111th Precinct,
in conjunction with
the Hate Crimes Task Force,
are currently investigating
this incident and there have
been no arrests.
According to the Diocese
of Brooklyn, the parish has
security cameras monitoring
the school entrance and is
looking into installing cameras
at the church’s entrance.
MS-13, also known as
“Mara Salvatrucha,” is a Los
Angeles-based street gang
made up of immigrants from
El Salvador, which originated
in the 1970s and 1980s. Its
original purpose was to protect
Salvadoran immigrants
from other gangs in LA.
“To the perpetrator, I would
encourage them to find something
more constructive to do
with their time and energy,
because the time they wasted
on doing something like this,
could be spent doing something
good,” Monsignor Machalski
said in a statement.
Machalski told The Tablet
that he does not believe
these were targeted attacks
as cops found similar graffiti
on neighboring garage doors
and fences.
Anyone with information
is asked to call Crime Stoppers
at 800-577-TIPS (8477)
or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA
(74782). The public can
also submit their tips by logging
onto the CrimeStoppers
website or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.
com or by phone at (718) 260-
2583.
MS-13 spray painted near the entrance of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church
Screenshot from video by Currents News/NET-TV
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