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INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. (AP) — Authorities investigating a string of vandalism at a half dozen churches in northern Nevada over the past five months say there were two more attacks at Lake Tahoe over the weekend, and the vandals are becoming more destructive.
The two churches, one Catholic and one Presbyterian, are located about a mile apart in Incline Village along the Mount Rose Highway about 30 miles southwest of Reno.
The Village Church and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church sustained considerable damage, including broken windows and equipment, and severed ropes and Christmas lights, Washoe County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Clark said.
The vandals also apparently tried to cut down an outdoor wooden cross late Saturday or early Sunday.
"Last night's incidents were more for destruction of property, and we are collecting evidence," Clark told the Sierra Sun on Sunday. "We are certainly looking at felony crimes here."
The Rev. Jeff Ogden, pastor at The Village Church, estimated damage there in excess of $3,000. He said their wooden cross had deep, saw-like cuts. He said his congregation will be "praying for the person who's done this."
"There's no animosity — just hurt and frustration that we've experienced the damage that was done here," he told the Sun.
Donna Caravelli, a parishioner at St. Francis, said the parish is "sickened and shocked" at the vandalism there, which includes broken stained glass windows, a smashed-in front door, and "a mess was made inside with some sort of dust."
"We prayed for whoever did this and hope their anger, hate and maliciousness will be replaced with love," she said. "We forgive them, as they must be truly troubled souls to do such a hateful thing."
Washoe County sheriff's deputies say the acts follow a pattern of similar incidents that have occurred in Incline Village since April. The initial incidents at five churches on Easter Sunday were limited mostly to graffiti. Some of it carried anti-Christianity messages.
"It's certainly under investigation, and we're working with FBI and collecting evidence," Clark told Reno Gazette-Journal. "It's a pattern of vandalism of churches."
FBI Special Agent Bridget Pappas said in an email to The Associated Press on Monday that the agency "does not ordinarily confirm or deny the existence of an investigation."
Before this weekend, the most recent incident reported at Incline Village was at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church on Aug. 7.
A church in Spanish Springs north of Sparks also was vandalized in April when a wooden cross damaged and a white cloth symbolic of Easter was stolen.
Last week, a "Black Lives Matter" sign outside a church in Reno was damaged by vandals who used red spray paint to replace the world "Black" with "White."
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