The Diocese of Brooklyn released surveillance video earlier this week of graffiti vandalism that on both the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and Catholic Academy in Bayside.
The church walls were tagged with “MS-13,” while the academy school doors were marked with “MS,” the diocese says.
Monsignor Machalski, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church, said he was relieved the damage to the church wasn’t more significant.
“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,” he said.
The parish will install security cameras in the entranceway, in addition to cameras at the school entrance.
The incident is being investigated by the 111th Precinct and the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force.