A statue of Jesus Christ outside an Indiana church has been beheaded twice in two weeks, and this time the vandal didn't leave the head behind.
The first time the concrete Christ statue outside Indianapolis, Indiana's Cottage Avenue Pentecostal Fellowship was vandalized was two weeks ago, when someone broke the head off but left it sitting next to the statue, WXIN-TV reported.
Church members were able to reattach the head last Saturday, but it was broken off again by Sunday morning, with the vandal or vandals taking the head with them this time.
“It makes me sad that somebody would do something like that,” Pastor Brad Flaskamp told WXIN. “I was hoping it was just a random act to destroy it in the first place.”
An investigation has been underway since the first beheading, but police have few leads unless a witness in the neighborhood comes forward.
“It’s a difficult case to investigate,” Sgt. Kendale Adams said, WXIN reported. “However, our detectives are very good about trying to connect the dots and get information from those in the community.”
“I can tell you that I don’t think it’s kids,” Flaskamp told WXIN. “It would have to be a kid that can wield a sledgehammer.”
“Someone needs Jesus, that’s for sure,” Flaskamp continued. “And not just his head, that’s the truth.”
A surveillance camera in the area was not yet running when the incidents occurred, but will be ready to catch any followup attempts.
Flaskamp told WXIN that if the Jesus statue's head is returned, he won’t press charges.
"I’d say we love you, we’d love to have the statue head back and we’d love to have you in our church," he told WXIN. "We’d welcome them, we’d forgive them. That’s what it’s all about."
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